Five divisions of two-year-old trotting fillies battled in the final OSS Grassroots event of the season Tuesday evening at Mohawk Racetrack, and the star of the show proved to be Magical Steph.
Perfect in her first three Grassroots assignments, Magical Steph kept that perfect OSS Grassroots record intact with an impressive 1:56.4 career-best performance for driver Steve Byron and trainer Gary Lance. The speedster was hustled to the lead from Post 4 and she successfully sliced out splits of :28, :58.4 and 1:28.1 before kicking home in :28.3 for the win. She was 5-1/2 lengths clear of The Muscle Touch, with Dayliner finishing third.
“I was surprised how strong she was going to the wire, to tell you the truth,” said Steve Byron. “She did it on her own. She’s been a nice filly all year long, that’s for sure. They tried her in the first Gold at Georgian and she finished fourth, but he decided — she’s a late foal and little on the small side — so he thought he’d go the Grassroots route. She’s been pretty push button all summer.
“Obviously I’d sooner have a good post, but you know, she’s pretty versatile,” noted Byron. “That’s the nice thing about her, she doesn’t have to race on the front and she can race off cover just as well, I think. She’s a pretty nice filly."
GL Racing Inc of Port Perry, ON owns the daughter of Kadabra-I Like Stephanie, who improved her overall record to 5-1-0 from seven starts with the win. The $9,000 payday bumped her cash stash to $63,400. The 50 points she earned with the victory lifted her into the top spot in the OSS Grassroots standings among the rookie trotting fillies.
Tymal Tempest kicked off the stakes action on Tuesday’s card with a 1:59.2 score in her $18,000 division. Phil Hudon got away third with the class dropping daughter of Deweycheatumnhowe-Balance Bar, before latching onto cover on the way to the half. She lost her cover in the backstretch, but continued to chip away from first over. She worked her way to the lead in the lane and only needed a :31.3 closing quarter to prevail by a nose over Tough Affair. Shes In Gear took home the show dough.
Sent off at odds of 5-1, the maiden-breaking winner improved her rookie record to 1-1-0 from six trips to the track for Tymal Farms of Oldcastle, ON. She’s stashed away $18,440 to date.
Myretirementticket earned a new lifetime mark when she trotted to a 1:58 decision in her $18,000 assignment. Trevor Henry picked up the catch-drive behind the Eli Wagler-trained homebred, and he made the most of the opportunity. He got away third before coming first-over on the way to the half. The filly kept chugging away and eventually worked her way to the lead in the lane. Her :28.4 closing quarter propelled her to the win by 2-1/2 lengths over Majestic Presence. Third prize went to Windsongmusclelady.
The daughter of Cornaro Dasolo-Shine Again now owns a 2-1-0 record in seven tries in addition to a bankroll that stands at $23,940.
Jangone rallied from far back to capture the fourth division in 1:58.3 for trainer/driver Riina Rekila. The daughter of Johnny William-Panderosa F got away sixth before picking up a position while advancing on the rim on the way to the half. She was fourth and tracking cover at the three-quarter pole, but she fanned out wide in the lane and exploded home in :29.2 to win by seven lengths over Herbe A Loral. Majestic Diva took home the show dough.
The Overseas Farms Ltd of Campbellville, ON bred and owns the youngster who picked up her third win of the season from seven assignments. It was a career-best performance for the winner of $26,740.
Traviata got away next-to-last in the final division, but that didn’t stop him from steamrolling home and posting a career-best clocking of 1:57.4 for driver Trevor Henry. The Kadabra-Nirvana Blue Chip filly spotted herself fourth over while racing parked at the half, and she was three-wide while sitting sixth at the three-quarter pole. She then used a :28.4 kicker to win by a head over race favourite Powerful Glare. Taking home third money was Toss It Back.
Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman trains the trotting lass for Mel Hartman of Ottawa, ON and Enzed Racing Stable Inc of Allentown, NJ. It was the third straight score for the career winner of $30,000.
(With quotes from OSS)
To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.