HANOVER, ON — Owen Sound resident Paul Walker and three-year-old trotting colt Fast Johnny scored the fastest of eight Grassroots divisions at Hanover Raceway on Saturday evening.
Walker and the Mr Lavec son took full advantage of Post 1 and an early miscue by favourite Erics Image and led the field through fractions of :29.4, :59.3 and 1:30.3 on their way to the 2:00.1 victory. Mikie Will finished two and three-quarter lengths back in second, while third-place finisher Mono Star was ten lengths behind the leaders.
Malcolm MacPhail and Robert MacPhail of Dover Centre share ownership on Fast Johnny with Graham Chambers Ltd. of Bothwell. The victory was the gelding’s second straight after going winless for six early season starts.
Division leader Earl Of Openwood extended his Grassroots win streak to four with a front end victory in the third race. The Earl son and driver Dave Boughton stopped the clock at 2:01.1, two lengths up on Mr Bitter and 10 lengths in front of Nobananas.
Earl Of Openwood has been flawless in Ontario Sires Stakes action this summer and sits atop the Grassroots standings with a perfect total of 200 points. Frank Szasz trains the winner of $85,663 for Ena Szasz of Bolton.
Best Image also boasts a perfect record in Grassroots action, extending his streak to three with a 2:01.1 effort in Race 8 on Saturday evening. Ray McLean, Jr. piloted the Balanced Image son to the two and one-quarter length win over Jaq And Gus and Marsm Chin for owners Doug Millard of Woodstock and Jerry VanBoekel of Bright.
Joe Stutzman trains Best Image, who made his first Grassroots start of the season at Clinton Raceway on June 13 and also posted a victory at Hiawatha Horse Park on July 8 for a total of 150 points and second spot in the race for a berth in the lucrative post season.
Several favourites made untimely errors leaving the door open for lightly rated colts to find their way to the Hanover winner’s circle on Saturday. Longshots Mathers Lavec, Onyx Seelster and E B Lenny found themselves beneficiaries of miscues made by favourites Trace Of Class, Leave It To Eager and Venture Capital.
Mathers Lavec, trained and driven by Owen Sound native Larry Walker for Springs Eternal Stable of Sutton West, hung on for a 2:02.2 quarter length victory in the fourth race. Onyx Seelster trotted to a surprising five length triumph in the sixth race, stopping the clock at 2:01 for trainer-driver Lorne House of Ingersoll and his partners Emerson Gill of Grand Bend and Mervin Smith of Dorchester. And trainer-driver Peter Hamilton engineered a five and three-quarter length 2:01 win for E B Lenny’s owner Bazil Seabrook of Iron Bridge in the ninth race.
The other Grassroots divisions went to Robert Lavictoire in 2:02.1 and Told Ya So in 2:02.3.
The three-year-old trotting colts make their fifth of six Grassroots starts at Grand River Raceway on Aug. 27, while Hanover Raceway presents the second of its back-to-back Ontario Sires Stakes programs on Wednesday. Six divisions of two-year-old trotting colts are headed for the Hanover oval to compete in their third Grassroots event of the season.