Next Friday's S.B.O.A. Stakes Finals for three-year-old filly trotters and pacers were set at Mohawk Racetrack following tonight's eliminations, which saw Bella Dolce extend her win streak to five.
Bella Dolce won her fifth straight start when she captured the second of two $25,000 S.B.O.A. Stakes Eliminations for sophomore trotting fillies.
With Post 3, regular pilot Paul MacDonell had the Kadabra – Pizza Dolce filly away in seventh early on as Beyond Limits (Jack Moiseyev) posted an opening quarter of :27.2. Bella Dolce started her first-over bid for MacDonell on the way to the :57 half.
Just as she did last week in the OSS Final, Bella Dolce rolled right on by the leaders at the three-quarters, taking charge in 1:27.1, and she cruised to the wire from there. In the end, she was an easy three and one-half length winner in 1:56.3.
Gaelic Mistress (Steve Byron) got second while third went to Countess Stormont (Mark MacDonald). Also advancing to the final were Hamster Dance (Jody Jamieson) and Appleby Hall (Trevor Ritchie).
"She's pretty slick gaited and it doesn't matter what the track is like. She gets out there and does her thing. She likes to run horses down. She can do it on the front, but the other ones like getting out of there so we follow them and hope to pick them off," said trainer Kevin O'Reilly. "Paul said tonight that this was probably the strongest she's been. She seems pretty good; she has got some class so she can put up with some issues. She might go down to Kentucky for a race or two and she'll be back here for the Breeders Crown."
Kevin O'Reilly now trains Bella Dolce ($2.10) in Canada for owner David Mc Duffee. The filly improved her 2008 record to 5-3-0 in 11 seasonal starts with earnings of $241,846. She has won 13 of her 22 career attempts while putting $563,643 in the bank.
Driver Keith Oliver saved as much ground as possible with Good Common Cents and that strategy was a winning one in the first elimination. The Kadabra – Good As Your Word filly positioned herself in third off the gate, following Abby Kadabra (Mark MacDonald) and Nashotah (Steve Byron) through the first half of :27.1 and :57.1.
The backfield began closing in on the leaders in the third quarter and Good Common Cents had driven into a blind switch from fourth at the 1:27.4 three-quarters. When the first-over challenger Dornello (Trevor Ritchie) began backing through the field, Oliver got the lane he needed and swung Good Common Cents three-wide with just under an eighth to go.
With clear sailing, Good Common Cents trotted on by the top two and prevailed by a length and a quarter in 1:58, which was a new career mark. Nashotah won the place photo over Abby Kadabra, with Whatta Hotty (Garrett Whelan) and Torch (Jody Jamieson) grabbing fourth and fifth, respectively, and a spot in the final.
"She puts herself in the race. With her gate speed, I can get her into the race and I knew I had to be top five to get into the final," said Oliver. "I got away behind two good horses, sat and got lucky to get out late to win. She's a nice filly, but when she got by them, she just got by them. I think we just have to hope for the best [next week]."
Good Common Cents ($41.50) hangs her harness bag in the Larry Walker stable and is owned by breeder Charles Armstrong. The filly has won twice this season from 12 tries, putting $50,434 into her bank account. Now a four time winner lifetime, she boasts earnings of $107,454.
Next Friday's $201,300 S.B.O.A. Final:
1. Gaelic Mistress
2. Good Common Cents
3. Bella Dolce
4. Whatta Hotty
5. Hamster Dance
6. Abby Kadabra
7. Torch
8. Appleby Hall
9. Nashotah
10. Countess Stormont
Only eight fillies were entered on the pacing side, which meant they all advanced to the $179,300 Final. Here is the field:
1. Shipps Bikini
2. Southwind Swallow
3. Windsong Eva
4. Designated Leader
5. All Accounted For
6. Chancey Lady
7. Voelz Hanover
8. Im Just Special
To view Friday's results, click here.