WINDSOR, NOV. 3, 2001 — Windsor Raceway fans enjoyed an outstanding evening of racing on Saturday as the track hosted the two-year-old Grassroots Championships and a $100,000 Gold Final for the two-year-old pacing colts.
The Gold colts opened the Ontario Sires Stakes program in the third race with an impressive track record perfomance by Pacific Titan. The Camluck colt and driver Paul MacDonell came off the starting gate as though they had been shot out of a rocket, reaching the opening quarter in :26.3 before the veteran reinsman allowed his charge a breather to the :56.4 half.
The duo passed the three-quarters in 1:24.3 and then MacDonell shifted Pacific Titan back into high gear and powered home to the 1:52.4 victory, holding off a charging Daylon Frontier by a head. Elimination winner Ifihadyourluck finished two lengths back in third.
John Grant of Hornby owns Pacific Titan, whose $65,000 purchase price seems a bargain compared to the $398,379 he has earned in 14 starts this season. The Scott McEneny trainee boasts a record of five wins, two seconds and two thirds in those 14 starts and will be looking to add to that tally in next Saturday’s $250,000 season ending Super Final at Mohawk Racetrack.
The two-year-old pacing fillies kicked off the four $100,000 Grassroots Championship contests in the fifth race and gave fans another reason to get to their feet with one of the closest finishes seen in Ontario Sires Stakes action this season.
In a cavalry charge to the wire, the top six fillies finished within one and a half lengths of each other and officials had to wait for the dust to settle before declaring Sweetheart Killean the winner.
In rein to Phil Hudon, Sweetheart Killean had stalked the pace from the outside while fan favourite Armbro Wallflower took the fillies through fractions of :27, :56.2 and 1:26.3. As the field turned for home Sweetheart Killean was a length and a quarter off the lead and gearing up for a fight. Three fillies swooped by the leaders through the stretch, but it was Sweetheart Killean who landed on top by a nose in 1:57.3.
Eyes Wide Shut, owned by trainer Jack Darling of Windsor and Dan Smith of Dorchester, finished second and Catch This Bunny was just a half length back in third. Pacesetter Armbro Wallflower was shuffled back a length to fourth, while Runaway Bea and Garland Seelster hit the wire together one and a half lengths behind the winner.
C and I Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. of Brooklyn own Sweetheart Killean, who bumped her season earnings to $80,712 with the win. Changing to a come-from-behind strategy seemed to suit the Run The Table daughter, who finished second in the Semifinal round after carving the early pace.
Sent off as the fans’ fourth choice Sweetheart Killean paid $34.90, $13.20 and $7.10 for the win, while third-choice Eyes Wide Shut paid $10.60 and $4.90 and fifth-choice Catch This Bunny returned $5.50 to show. Combining the fillies on a triactor ticket earned you $1,144.60.
Two races later in the freshman trotting filly Final Early Secret made short work of her peers when she powered around the Windsor five-eighths oval to an eight length win in an impressive 2:01.1, taking three seconds off the personal best she recorded in the Semifinal round.
Leaving from Post 2 trainer-driver Paul Walker eased the Earl daughter off the gate into third and waited until the field had passed the halfway point before moving the filly onto the lead. Once she hit the front Early Secret simply pulled away from the competition as though they were standing still, four lengths on top by the head of the stretch and eight and half lengths the best at the wire.
Malcolm MacPhail of Dover Centre and William Loyens of London own the precocious filly, who boosted her record to three wins, three seconds and two thirds in 11 starts and earnings of $95,459.
With her impressive performance in Saturday’s Final Early Secret will likely make her next start in the Canadian Breeders Championship at Mohawk Racetrack on Nov. 24.
Trotting colt champ Semper Fi Hall is also a candidate for the Canadian Championships after the impressive effort he delivered on Saturday night.
As the field of freshman trotters left the starting gate driver Trevor Ritchie was wondering if he had chosen the wrong mount for the $100,000 event. Ritchie qualified both Semper Fi Hall and Ryan Hall for trainer Doug McIntosh and opted to drive Semper Fi Hall in the Final, but as the gate pulled away the Balanced Image son made a break in stride and Ritchie found himself last as the field trotted toward the quarter mile marker.
However, the veteran reinsman was able to settle his charge down and rejoin the race, moving steadily forward as Cyclone Artie, a horse Ritchie had driven all season for trainer Harald Lunde, posted fractions of :28.4, :59.1 and 1:30. As the colts moved by the three-quarter pole Ritchie had Semper Fi Hall on the move up the outside, making a three-wide manoeuvre around his stablemate Ryan Hall.
Turning for home Semper Fi Hall was fourth, one and a half lengths behind Cyclone Artie, but Ritchie was reaching for the turbo button. With a powerful finishing kick the colt battled his way to the front to score the 2:01.1 victory and earn the division title. Creigmeister also closed well to finish second while Cyclone Artie held on for third.
Walnut Hall Limited of Lexington, KY bred and own co-favourites Semper Fi Hall and Ryan Hall, who finished eighth after making a break around the final turn.
The two-year-old pacing colts wrapped up the outstanding evening of Sires Stakes competition with another finish that required a magnifying glass to separate the top four horses.
Favourite Corona Grande extended his win streak to eight with a gutsy gate-to-wire performance that saw him under heavy pressure for three-quarters of the mile. The Camluck colt out muscled Armbro Wallstreet to take the early lead, fought Armbro Warranty from the three-quarter pole to the finish and kept a stubborn nose in front of Cam Bo Informal to record the 1:56.1 win.
Judge Cam finished one half length back in third and Armbro Warranty held on for fourth, just three-quarters of a length behind the winner.
The victory was three-fifths of a second faster than Corona Grande had paced before and added an additional $50,000 to his $54,421 account. Trainer Jack Darling and his long time partner Dan Smith of Dorchester own the colt, who cost them $25,000 at last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale.
The heavy favourite at Windsor on Saturday night, Corona Grande is another youngster who could be headed for the Canadian Breeders Championship.
Saturday’s program wrapped up another exciting Ontario Sires Stakes season at Windsor Raceway which saw provincial competitors lower two track records and equal two others. The provincial program will return to the southern oval next season with a new crop of trotters and pacers eager to make their mark in the track’s history books.
The 2001 Ontario Sires Stakes season comes to a close next Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack with the $2 million Super Final Championships. The top 10 point earners from all eight Gold Series divisions will compete in their respective $250,000 Super Finals and all the action can be seen on cable television’s The Score from 9 to 11 pm EDT.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT SANDRA SNYDER AT 519-656-2017 (TEL./FAX) OR smsnyder@sentex.net.