In The Black came from third in the stretch to power to a lifetime-best 1:55.1 victory in the lone $140,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series event for 2-year-old trotting colts on Saturday (July 12) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A full field of 10 contested the first Gold event of the year in the division.
In The Black, the 4-5 favoured homebred son of Green Manalishi S out of Only Take Cash, was driven to victory by Bob McClure for trainer Jeff Williams and owners Mardon Stables of Loretto, ON, Tyrone Valley Farm of Bowmanville, ON and Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. of Hudson, QC. In The Black was bred by the late Hall of Famer Bob McIntosh, Mardon Stables and Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, ON.
Driver Todd Ratchford blasted Wolverine Legend to the front off the gate and tried to stretch out the field through fractions of :27.4 and :57.2 with Another Great Mass (Trevor Henry) sitting second and In The Black well back in third. The front-runners tightened up from there, with Another Great Mass taking command just before the 1:26.4 three-quarter station. In the stretch, the battle was on until In The Black sailed to the front and on to an easy 1¾-length victory.
“That was just a training trip for [In The Black],” McClure told Woodbine broadcaster Chad Rozema in the winner’s circle. “He followed along like a like an old racehorse, and when I got to head of lane – I haven’t won many Golds that easily – he just coasted. And he had a lot left in the tank, that’s for sure.”
Another Great Mass held on for second, followed by Strobe Lite (Tyler Borth), who finished with broken equipment, Wolverine Legend and D A Masstermind (Chris Christoforou).
The win improved In The Black to a record of 2-0-0 in three starts and upped his bankroll to $93,625.
“He’s a absolute sweetheart,” McClure said of In The Black. “Me and Jeff [Williams] actually raced the mother here, so we have some familiar familiarity with her. She was a sweetheart, and so is he.”
Williams told Rozema that In The Black has, “been a nice colt from the day we broke him… His mother was fast, his father was fast, and he’s fast. He’s a fast colt.”