Bob McClure was in the bike of both Willowtime and Griff on Tuesday (Sept. 5) in the fourth leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold for two-year-old colt and gelding trotters and made it to the Mohawk Park winner's circle both times to sweep the series for the evening.
McClure and Mark Etsell trainee Willowtime were up against nine other trotters as they won the $104,000 division in 1:54.2.
Willowtime rocketed from the outer wings in post eight and soared to the top. He cruised to the opening panel in :27.1 before favoured Soar Higher (James MacDonald) took command of the field. Soar Higher dished out two more panels in :57.2 and 1:26.4 as Willowtime followed in the pocket. The pair of trotters met on even terms in the stretch and opened up on the remainder of the field. In the final steps, Willowtime brushed past Soar Higher to win by a half-length. What About Elmo (Tyler Jones) finished third.
"When he started, he was what we call the Ugly Duckling," said Etsell. "Feet were going everywhere and it took him a while to grow into himself, but once he did, once we got around [2:]20, he started showing some extreme talent."
Etsell co-owns the Lookslikeachpndale colt with Terry Devos and Peter Porter. A career winner of $103,550 from two starts, Willowtime has earned both victories in the OSS Gold series.
Willowtime paid $8.10 to win.
Griff raced from the back of the pack for most of the mile before making a move in the stretch to win his $103,100 Gold division in upset fashion.
From post eight, the Murray Brethour trainee got away eighth, 15-1/4 lengths off the leader as Spiros (Chris Christoforou) set the opening panel timer at :27.2. A miscue from the leader left Elegant Resolve (MacDonald) in charge of the tempo and moved Griff into seventh through the half in :57.1 and three-quarters in 1:26. Into the final turn and down the stretch, McClure and Griff went wide on the field and used every bit of racetrack as it was running out. Jody Jamieson urged Myretirementdream forward in the last steps to the wire, but Griff powered onward to win by a half-length in 1:54.4. Elegant Resolve rounded out the top three.
"He felt great the whole way," said McClure. "A big problem he was having was just staying trotting early, but Murray's done a good job. He's changed some things. He put some hopples on, last week got a little confidence booster in him.
"Did I expect him to jump up and win a Gold? No, but at the head of the lane, he started kicking and he raced really good. [1:]54, he dropped a lot of time there. It was pretty impressive with him tonight."
Griff won his second race in three starts in a career-best time. Owned by Jeffrey & Lori Thomson, Murray Brethour and Kyle Northover, the two-year-old Muscle Mass gelding moved his bankroll to $60,050.
Griff paid $25.50 to win.
To view Tuesday's harness racing results, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.