TORONTO – It was a busy weekend in the Ontario Sires Stakes with six Gold divisions at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday and Saturday and five Grassroots dashes for freshman pacing fillies at Hiawatha Horse Park on Saturday. Catch up on all the action below.
The Glamour Boys headlined the Saturday July 22 card at Woodbine Mohawk Park with two divisions and both winners paid over $20.00.
In race two, a $100,400 division for three-year-old male pacers, Richard Moreau trainee Midnight Nation was victorious going off at odds of 14-1.
Trevor Henry sat the son of Betterthancheddar well off the pace, and was still in the trail position of the six horse field passing the eighth pole, but flew down the lane to pace the last quarter in 25.4 and win his second OSS Gold division of 2023 in 1:49.3.
“He was real good tonight, they raced hard up front and we got to finish it off,” said Henry. “I saw Stockade was struggling and the horses on the inside weren’t making much ground, I was the only one making up ground, so I knew we had a pretty good shot.”
The gelding has now banked $116,580 in 2023, with over $100,000 of that coming in the Ontario Sires Stakes for his owners Shaun Vallee and D P V Racing Stable.
Roland Trudel homebred Verdun (Bettors Delight) was second with Louis-Phillipe Roy in the bike for Jean Tournigy.
Macs Delight was third for trainer Shawn Steacy with Johnathan Drury driving. John Cancelliere owns the Bettors Delight gelding.
The second $101,300 division came in race eight and Bettor Be Bold the fourth selection on the board at 9-1, also came from off the pace to win for the first time at the top level of the OSS.
Bob McClure moved the Shawn Steacy trainee up off cover from a first
Image 2: Bettor Be Bold wins an OSS Gold division on July 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
up Moment Is Here in the middle of the third quarter, and the son of Betterthancheddar paced the final quarter in 25.4 to win by half a length in 1:50.2.
“I thought tonight was the night when it could happen,” said Steacy. “We don’t get out of the gate as well as some of the other ones so I was hoping the pace would stay hot and that way we could get them at the end, and it worked out.”
Mark Steacy, David Reid, Landmark 15 Racing Stable, and Bc Reichheld Stables co-own Bettor Be Bold who has shown plenty of talent in his five lifetime starts where he has a record of 2-2-0.
“He does have a very racy attitude overall, he’s a very competitive horse,” said Steacy. “His lack of racing that way didn’t affect him as much as others would.”
Robert Mcintosh homebred Moment Is Here (All Bets Off) was a hard fought second for co-owners Al McIntosh Holdings Inc, Frank D Baldachino, and Mardon Stables.
Even money favourite No Control finished third for trainer Tan Micallef who co-owns the Control The Moment gelding with Keira Liberte, and Ian Clarke.
Earlier in the day at Hiawatha Horse Park, five Grassroots divisions headlined the Saturday afternoon card, with a trio of homebreds giving their owners trips to the winners circle.
Fred Brayford homebred Control The Fire kicked off the Grassroots action in race two, a $22,000 division with a three length win. In two Grassroots starts she has already banked over $16,000. Meg Cron trains the Control The Moment filly who was piloted by Anthony Haughan.
In race six, a $22,000 division Determnation homebred Greatest Pleasure (Bettors Delight) showed improvement in her third career start, jumping up from the Prospect Series to win for trainer Luc Blais with Jean Rene Plante in the bike.
The third homebred winner of the day was Tribal Dancer in race eight. Bred and owned by 1187422 Ontario Inc., the Sunshine Beach filly went off at 1-2 odds and proved worthy of the public’s support winning by three lengths.
For the full list of results on Saturday at Hiawatha Horse Park click here.
OSS action got underway on Friday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park with two divisions each for freshman male pacers and freshman pacing fillies. We have a recap here.
Header Image: Midnight Nation wins an OSS Gold division on July 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.