Another week, another group of new Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series winners in the 2-year-old trotting colt division.
Thursday night (Aug. 7) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, a pair of former Grassroots competitors, Crunchintheodds (above) and Mike Me Up, were winners in their respective $90,000 Gold events one week after Another Great Mass won the lone Leg 2 Gold at the Milton, ON track.
In the first division on Thursday, Another Great Mass made an early break and finished last in the field of six. That made it Touchedbyanangel’s race to lose and the Doug McNair-driven colt was cruising through fractions of :28, :56.4 and 1:25.4 with Crunchintheodds (James MacDonald) sitting comfortably in the pocket. In the stretch, Touchedbyanangel tired and Crunchintheodds took advantage, defeating Strobe Lite (Tyler Borth) by two lengths in a career-best 1:54.2. Tavern On the Green (Louis-Philippe Roy) was third, while Touchedbyanangel and Wolverine Legend (Chris Christoforou) grabbed the final cheques.
Sent off at 12-1, Crunchintheodds (Green Manalishi S—Karoon) paid $27.30.
“[Crunchintheodds] did everything right,” MacDonald told Woodbine broadcaster Chad Rozema. “He was on the bit, trotted great and I was surprised in the last turn, he was kind of chewing on Doug’s helmet and when I moved him over, he didn’t hesitate at all. He just jumped forward… I’m just really happy with how he raced and the effort he gave me.”
Crunchintheodds improved to 2-0-0 in four lifetime starts and improved his earnings to $61,262 for owner Glenn Dyke of Townsend, DE, trainer Blake MacIntosh and breeder Susan Zammit of Hillsburgh, ON. The colt was purchased for $37,000 at last year’s London Classic Yearling Sale.
In the second division, Mike Me Up and Louis-Philippe Roy went gate-to-wire to win in a career best 1:55. The son of Muscle Mass out of Meghan C put up fractions of :27.4, :56.4 and 1:25.3 to win by three-quarters of a length over The Green Gazoo (Bob McClure). D A Mastermind (Chris Christoforou) was a close third, followed by favourite First Class Mass (James MacDonald) and In The Black (Jody Jamieson).
Mike Me Up was sent off at 6-1 and paid $14.30.
Trainer Rob Fellows said he wasn’t sure if the front end would be Mike Me Up’s best trip.
“We raced two on the front end earlier and they both slowed down and stopped at the end of the mile,” Fellows said. “We’ve scoped them and they’re both a little sick. So, when this one was on the front end I was thinking, ‘Is this happening again?’ But he held on. He raced really tough. That’s a good record for him.”
Mike Me Up was bred by Tara Hills Stud of Port Perry, ON and Glenn Bechtel of Kingston, ON. He was purchased for $17,000 U.S. at the 2024 Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling by Yolanda Fellows of Rockwood, ON, Erna and Blair Corbeil of Leduc, AB and Mike McAllister of Beaumont, AB.
The colt is now 2-1-1 in four career starts and has earnings of $64,500.
That makes four different winners in four Gold events in the 2-year-old trotting colts’ division. In The Black won the first Gold event in the division on July 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Mike Me Up (Louis-Philippe Roy) won the second of two $90,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Leg 3 divisions on Thursday at Woodbine Mohawk Park.