DRESDEN, ON — Familiar surroundings and a stand-out performance propelled Windsong Erica to a Grassroots victory at Dresden Raceway on Monday afternoon.
Racing at the track where part-owner Malcolm MacPhail introduced her to the world of racing, the two-year-old trotting filly delivered an impressive effort to score a seven and a half length victory in the first $17,161 Grassroots division.
In spite of being handicapped by the outside Post 7, Windsong Erica and trainer Paul Walker fired off the gate and had positioned themselves in second as fan favourite Babra Kadabra took the field to a :30.3 opening quarter. The pair remained in single file by the 1:02.4 half, but Walker had Windsong Erica on the move before the 1:34 three-quarters and the filly had established a one length lead by the time she turned for home.
Sprinting down the stretch, Windsong Erica hit the wire seven and a half lengths up on Babra Kadabra and eight lengths ahead of Tires Missmalabar, stopping the clock in 2:04.3.
Dover Centre resident MacPhail shares ownership on Windsong Erica with his brother Robert MacPhail of Dover Centre and breeder William Loyens of London. Monday’s win was the Malabar Maple daughter’s first in four freshman starts.
Eight races later Quintessential K delivered an outstanding front-end performance to hold off a hard charging Condi Lane and record a 2:02.1 track record. Starting from Post 3, the King Conch miss and trainer-driver Terrence Lee Tomlin led the field through fractions of :28.4, :59.4 and 1:31.1 and then hung tough in the stretch to record the win. Fiesty Fergie was nine lengths behind the battling leaders in third.
Tomlin trains Quintessential K for breeder Mitchell Walker of Davison, MI. The track record performance was Quintessential K’s second straight victory and, added to the third-place she posted in the Grassroots season opener, puts her in a three-way tie for second spot in the Grassroots standings.
Quintessential K’s 2:02.1 mile peeled three-fifths of a second off the former two-year-old trotting filly track record, set by Ontario Sires Stakes competitor Grand Proposal in 2000.
It was a good day for those sporting the surname Walker, as Larry Walker, Paul Walker’s elder brother, captured the seventh race with Good Common Cents. Leaving from Post 5, Good Common Cents took quick command of the race and cruised effortlessly around the Dresden half-mile to a 2:06 victory over Love Me Tomorrow and B Cor Reba.
Larry Walker trains Good Common Cents for owner and breeder Charles Armstrong of Brampton. The Kadabra filly now boasts a record of one win, one third and one fifth through her first three starts.
The other Grassroots divisions were captured by Sexy Siren in 2:03.1, Taylorlane Evita in 2:05 and Debt Reduction in 2:06.4.
The two-year-old trotting fillies make their third Grassroots start on Aug. 25 at Sudbury Downs, while Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Dresden Raceway on Labour Day Monday, Sept. 3, with Grassroots action for the two-year-old pacing fillies.
For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rdresmo.html