INNISFIL, ON — Petals Of A Flower scored the biggest upset in eight Grassroots Semifinals at Georgian Downs on Saturday evening and emptied half the grandstand into the winner’s circle as local owners Mardon Stables of Loretto and Sit N Go Stable of Barrie celebrated with family and friends.
Leaving from Post 6 Petals Of A Flower and driver John Holmes sat at the back of the field as the fillies on the front fought for the lead through fractions of :29, :59.4 and 1:32. Holmes moved the Mr Lavec daughter through the final quarter and she was just one half length off the lead by the top of the stretch. When the veteran reinsman hit the accelerator down the stretch Petals Of A Flower responded with a finishing kick that saw her put three lengths between herself and the field and capture her first lifetime victory in 2:04.1.
Bruce MacDonald trains Petals Of A Flower for her local owners and Holmes says the conditioner had very basic instructions for him as he handed over the lines for the $30,000 Semifinal.
“He just said get her out and give her a chance, but the fractions were pretty wild so I just took a chance at sitting back and getting to them later and that’s how it worked out,” said Holmes. “The pace was fast. They were crazy fractions on this kind of night, especially in a snow storm.”
The cold and wet weather resulted in a track rated �Good’ and one second slower than normal.
Memories Of Texas earned the runner-up’s share and Taffeta Seelster stayed game for third, eight lengths behind the winner. Fourth-place finisher Shawland Y Two K also advanced to next weekend’s $100,000 Grassroots Championship.
The other trotting filly division went to Queen Of Jewels, who also used a come-from-behind strategy to overtake pacesetter Armbro Acunar. Fan favourite and regular season point leader Designable finished third and Zorgwijk Delmonica nailed down the last spot in the Final. Trainer-driver Carman Hie of Rockwood, Gary Smith of Burlington and Peter Kloepfer of Harley share ownership on Queen Of Jewels.
Pacing colt Tommys Luck displayed an impressive turn of foot over the off track, stopping the clock in a snappy 1:56.4 to score the victory in the last Grassroots Semifinal. The Bob McIntosh trainee overcame a tough trip up the outside to score the win, which saw him finish five lengths ahead of pacesetter Midnight Rustler. Artic Premium finished third, but was placed back to fifth for interfering with Jimmy Crack Cohen through the stretch. As a result M U Stradaverius was moved up to third from fourth and McIntosh trainee Jimmy Crack Cohen moved into fourth from fifth.
McIntosh trains Camluck colt Tommys Luck for Robert Waxman of Ancaster and Sylvain Filion handled the lines on the gifted pacer from Post 4.
“He was very powerful tonight, a little steppy, but he was really good,” said Filion of the fan favourite. “He was still strong at the wire you know, so he’ll be good next week.”
McIntosh and Waxman also qualified a colt for the Final out of the other division. Daylon Alert finished a head back of Video Express after carving the fractions in Race 6. Video Express earned the 1:59 victory off a pocket trip and Spare Time Scout edged out Lexus Bandito to earn a spot in the Grassroots Final. McIntosh’s fourth entry and the race 6 favourite, Dream Rocket, finished fifth.
Trainer Gary Machiz of Clarksburg, NJ shares ownership on Rustler Hanover son Video Express with Barry Rubenstein Farms of Port Washington, NY.
Trotting colt Zoltar Seelster and Hall of Fame driver Ron Waples were the only other favourites to get the job done, scoring an impressive front end victory in 2:04.3. In spite of starting from Post 8, the pair were on top just after the quarter and cruised home to the half length win over long shot Turn That Down and Hieway Earl. The aptly named C S Ruff Start recovered from an early break in stride to earn the fourth spot in the Nov. 9 Championship round.
Waples handles Zoltar Seelster for trainer Scott McEneny of Waterdown and John Fielding of Toronto and the veteran reinsman was pleased with the way the Eager Seelster son handled himself in the snowy, wet conditions.
“There’s a lot of snow on the track and he was doing some slipping and sliding,” said Waples. “He’s had a few problems all year, this colt, so he didn’t really need that snow out there, but he got around and overcame it.”
Call To Order captured the second trotting colt Semifinal for owners Linfields Farm of Alton and Brylin Stable Inc. of Erin, stopping the clock in 2:03.4 off a front end effort. Mr Tantalizer and favourite Snoops Bytes rounded out the top three and local horse Certified Election, owned by trainer Kent Baker and Wayne Smith of Coldwater and Cal Patterson of Wasaga Beach, edged out Yankee Fission for fourth.
The pacing fillies delivered a pair of exciting races with the favourite being relegated to second in the first and seventh in the second. In the first split Jim McClure piloted Feathery Fame to a 1:59.1 victory over Pat Me Up and Cam Nice Girl after tailing them up the outside through most of the mile. The top four fillies, including fourth-place finisher Burning Point, hit the wire just one length apart.
“Actually I was very fortunate to get a trip. She’s not a real big filly so she needs some cover and I was very fortunate to get that. The way the race set up helped me quite a bit,” said McClure. “She’s a game little filly, she just needs a little help in the race.”
Gregg McNair trains the Apaches Fame daughter for his mother Gwendolyn McNair of Walkerton.
In the second pacing filly division Lucky Irma rocketed around the five-eighths oval, holding off a quick moving Wendys Rocket through the stretch to score the 1:58.1 win for owner John Christensen of Scarborough. Believe In Dreams and Apaches Angel finished neck and neck for third and fourth.
The top four finishers from each Semifinal will return to Georgian Downs next Saturday, Nov. 9 to compete in their $100,000 division Championships and wrap up the Innisfil oval’s outstanding Ontario Sires Stakes season.