CLINTON, ON — After taking an unsuccessful run at the Gold Series, three-year-old pacing colt Test Flight launched his Grassroots campaign with a 1:57 victory at Clinton Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

Driver Brad Forward sent the colt straight to the front from Post 2, and Test Flight soared unchallenged through a :28.3 opening quarter, a :58.2 half and a 1:27.3 three-quarters on his way to the four length victory. Smart Nukes closed hard from the back of the seven horse field to finish second and Totally Excellent completed the triactor.

Share Arsenault trains Test Flight for Gestion R. Zane Inc. of Lachine, QC, and this season the colt has posted five wins and two thirds in 10 starts. At two, Test Flight was a solid Gold Series player and finished second by a nose in the $300,000 Battle of Waterloo.

The win aboard Test Flight was one of three for Forward, who kicked off the afternoon’s festivities by engineering a 1:57.3 triumph for Bill Elliott trainee Mighty And Strong.

Mighty And Strong took command of the race just past the quarter pole and held off a late charge by Goose Creek to record the one length victory, his fifth straight. In 12 starts this season the Astreos son has recorded an impressive eight victories and three seconds for earnings of $48,050. Canamerica Capital Corp. and Hyatt Holdings of Milton and William Jones of Lexington, KY share ownership on the colt, who raced just three times last season.

Forward’s third victory came in the ninth race when he once again used front end tactics to land Whitesand Raider in the winner’s circle. Getting away third from the trailing Post 8, Forward sent Whitesand Raider after the lead before the halfway marker and the Northern Luck son pulled away to a two and one-half length victory in 1:57.2.

The win was just the second this season for Whitesand Raider, who is owned by trainer Gaetan Hebert of Waterdown and Natasha Rivest of Brantford. Through 20 starts the gelding now has two wins, two seconds and two thirds.

Gimme A Grin and fan favourite Motivator rounded out the top three behind Whitesand Raider.

Heading into Sunday’s program, Forward was sitting third in the Ontario Sires Stakes driver’s point race, 30 points behind leader Trevor Henry, seven behind last year’s winner Jody Jamieson and nine ahead of Jason Brewer. While Forward’s hat trick will boost his point total, the other three drivers also rose to the challenge, scoring two wins each on the Grassroots program.

Henry hit in Races 3 and 4 with Scotian Sunset (1:59.1) and Gunsmoke VMW (1:57.3). Jamieson finished things up on a high note, capturing the last two divisions with Oakley Seelster (1:57.3) and Fourth Page (1:59). And Brewer waved at the fans following his 1:58.2 victory with the free-legged Laurel Canyon in Race 5 and a 1:57.4 effort in the tenth race that saw his mount Arduous hit the wire at the exact same moment as Whitesand Noble for a deadheat decision.

The only other driver to get his picture taken with an Ontario Sires Stakes winner at Clinton on Sunday was Randy Fritz, who piloted The Grin Man to a 1:57.3 victory in Race 6.

Ontario’s talented three-year-old pacing colts make their next Grassroots stop at Flamboro Downs on Aug. 8, while the provincial program returns to Clinton Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 5 with Grassroots action for the two-year-old pacing fillies.

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rclntnsu.html