Cher Hill rebounded from a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Elegantimage final two weeks ago to capture the $350,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Super Final for 3-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday night (Oct. 10) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Sent off as the 4-5 favourite for trainer Gregg McNair, the sophomore secured the victory with a 1:52.4 with Doug McNair in the bike.
“Tonight, well, it’s a little different bunch, but there’s still a nice bunch of fillies in there,” Gregg said. “She’s a little bit inconsistent. Sometimes she’ll really bring her ‘A’ game and sometimes not. She seems to stall a little bit around the last turn sometimes. She did it a bit tonight, but then she comes through the stretch fine.”
While the trainer noted the inconsistencies displayed by his charge over her previous 12 starts this season, the Tom Hill-bred and owned trotter delivered a strong effort Saturday. Drawing post seven, Doug settled into fourth soon after the start as Th Trix R Forkids (Mark MacDonald) fired from the outside and was followed by Flowing Tribute and Bob McClure.
MacDonald led the field through a :27.1 first quarter before Flowing Tribute moved to the top. On the backstretch, Satu Wania and Trevor Henry opted to leave their positions along the pylons in third and advance first over, advancing to the lead as the field trotted past the half in :56.3. The move prompted Doug McNair to sit along the inside.
“I just didn’t want to get in a hurry with her off the gate,” Doug said. “Once it dusted, I was going to go back to lead, but then Trevor moved, so I decided we’ve just got to sit and pray, that’s all.”
Once past the half, Cher Hill angled out and began to make her bid on the outside, flushing Flowing Tribute from second on the way to the three-quarter station (1:25). Turning for home, Cher Hill had a clear path to the wire, but she had some work to do. She reeled in the leader with every stride, putting away Flowing Tribute and Satu Wania and gamely trotted to the wire to collect her fifth seasonal score. Twin B Showbiz and Tyler Borth, sent off at 27-1, came flying late, but had too much ground to make up, settling for second. Bingo Night and Tyler Jones, 50-1, managed third.
Cher Hill is a Muscle Mass filly out of Kadabra mare Lauramarie Hill. She finished second to Blue Jean Gal in OSS Gold points over the five-leg slate, registering two wins and finishing second, third and fifth in her other attempts.
The filly romped by more than six lengths in her last OSS start, then finished second in an Elegantimage elimination, a neck back in 1:51.2. In the Elegantimage final, Cher Hill and McNair left from post eight and raced second through fractions of :26.3 and :54.4 and eventually finished seventh.
“Well, you know, I kind of drove her pretty tough last week,” Doug said. “She got a real tough start against Grand Circuit fillies, so I just figured if I didn’t overdrive her early tonight she would give us a little more finish than she did.”
A three-time winner in 10 seasonal starts at 2, Cher Hill has hit the board in eight of 13 starts this year. The victory pushed her seasonal bankroll to $357,427, and her career earnings are now $488,264.
Cher Hill is Breeders Crown eligible, but the trainer noted a decision on whether she will enter has not been determined.
“She’s eligible, but we’ll talk it over with Tom if she’s going down,” Gregg said. “I’m not sure what’s in store for her.”