SUDBURY, ON — Driver Steven Sills and trainer John Bax teamed up at Sudbury Downs on Saturday evening to capture the first two of five Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old trotting fillies.

After trying her hand at the Grassroots and Gold Series levels, Taketwo N Callme finally found her way to the winner’s circle in the first $20,610 division, stopping the clock at 2:05.2.

Starting from Post 1, Sills settled Taketwo N Callme in third and watched Debt Reduction and Putter Perfect battle for the front end through the first half of the race. Heading for the three-quarter marker Sills sent the Dr Ronerail daughter up the outside, and Taketwo N Callme powered around the final turn to the front, then sailed down the stretch to the one length victory.

Early leader Debt Reduction finished second and Countess Stormont closed well over the soggy track, rated two seconds slower than normal, to earn the third-place finisher’s share.

Peterborough resident Bax, John Hayes of Sharon and George Grant of Oakwood bred and own Taketwo N Callme, who has earned $15,643 through six starts.

Sills engineered a similar trip for Bax trainee Style Defined in the second Grassroots division. Leaving smartly from Post 1, Style Defined led the field to the :30.4 opening quarter before allowing Fiesty Fergie and Ocean Mist Dynasty to charge past before the 1:01 half. Once again Sills opted to sit in third and watch the leaders duke it out to the 1:32.4 three-quarters, then sent Style Defined out to challenge around the final turn.

The daughter of Duke Of York and $563,055 winner Brylin Glory was on top by a length when she turned for home and maintained a three-quarter length margin when she hit the wire in 2:04. Fan favourite Ocean Mist Dynasty stepped up to be second and Fiesty Fergie settled for third.

Bax trains Style Defined for breeders Al Libfeld of Pickering and Marvin Katz of Toronto. A first time starter, Style Defined prepped for Saturday’s contest with a pair of third-place finishes in qualifying action at Kawartha Downs earlier this month.

Seven time Lampman Cup winner Ross Battin added two more Ontario Sires Stakes wins to his resume on Saturday, guiding PC Monorail and Live In Love to victory in Races 4 and 6.

Emulating Sills, Battin opted to sit behind the pacesetters with PC Monorail, waiting until the stretch to hit the accelerator. The Dr Ronerail daughter got a neck in front of Maker A Laker at the wire, stopping the Sudbury Downs teletimer at 2:05.2. Lady Keely was seven lengths behind the battling leaders in third.

Peter Clements of Dobbinton bred, owns and trains PC Monorail, who has posted one win, one third and one fifth in her three starts.

In the sixth race, Battin and Live In Love took command early and cruised home three length winners in a smart 2:03.1. Division point leader and fan favourite Dr Sparky had to settle for second, while Zorgwijk Intimate was seven lengths back in third.

Trainer Gregg McNair of Guelph, Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke and Robert Frank of Waterloo own Live In Love, who was making her first visit to the winner’s circle since her July 8 debut at Georgian Downs. Since then the Striking Sahbra daughter has logged a ninth-place finish in the Gold Series season opener at Georgian Downs, a second-place finish in the Aug. 6 Grassroots event at Dresden Raceway and a fourth in a division of the Robert Stewart Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack on Aug. 12.

A $30,000 US yearling purchase at the Lexington Select Sale, Live In Love bumped her earnings to $26,570 with Saturday’s win.

The last Grassroots division saw brothers Trevor and Wayne Henry finish first and second with their entry of Love Me Tomorrow and Taylorlane Evita. Love Me Tomorrow led from gate to wire, finishing three lengths in front of her stablemate in 2:07. Awesome Mattie was another length back in third.

The Henry Stable of Arthur and Daniel McCann of Parkhill offered up $28,000 for Love Me Tomorrow at last fall’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale, and through three starts the Angus Hall miss has already returned $17,118. Fourth in the Gold Series season opener, she also posted a runner-up finish in Grassroots action at Dresden.

The two-year-old trotting fillies will make their fourth Grassroots start on Sept. 2 at Clinton Raceway. Sudbury Downs plays host to its second Ontario Sires Stakes event of the season this Wednesday, Aug. 29, welcoming five divisions of the lightning fast three-year-old pacing colts for their fourth Grassroots outing. Post time on Wednesday is 7:15 pm.

For complete results please go to:

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