INNISFIL, ON — Ontario’s top three-year-old trotters and pacers sizzled around the Georgian Downs oval on Saturday evening, lowering one Ontario Sires Stakes record and matching another.
The first to have her name added to the provincial history books was pacing filly Village Janus, who got a text book pocket trip behind fan favourite Monkey On My Wheel, then powered by in the stretch to steal a neck victory in 1:51.1. The mile matched the OSS record set by Michelles Power at Rideau Carleton Raceway in 2007, and lowered the Georgian Downs track record.
Monkey On My Wheel had to settle for second, with Athenas Legacy getting bumped up to third when Look Cheap interfered with her while on a break at the three-quarters.
Village Janus now sports a flawless record of four wins in four sophomore starts. The Modern Art daughter also captured a May 13 overnight at Flamboro Downs and then swept her Gold Elimination and the Final at Western Fair Raceway on May 20 and 27. The winner of $241,200 is owned by Rod Therres of Campbellville and Larry Schmidt of Abbotsford, BC, and Therres also handles training duties on the talented youngster. Scott Zeron, last year’s leading driver on the provincial circuit, crafted the win.
The other three-year-old pacing filly Gold Elimination went to last year’s Super Final champion Modern Connection, who finally found her stride after a rocky start to the sophomore season. Jody Jamieson gave the filly a confident steer, sending her to the front at the halfway marker and pulling away to a three length lead. The filly maintained that margin through the wire, halting the teletimer at 1:52.
Dave Menary conditions Modern Connection for breeders Yousif Yousif of Chesterfield, MI and Ameer Najor of Detroit, MI. Friday’s win was the Modern Art daughter’s first in five starts this season. Shipps Xanadu and Camille rounded out the top three in the $40,000 Gold Elimination.
The second record setting performance saw Watermelonwine fly around the Innisfil oval in a spectacular 1:49.2, peeling almost one full second off the old Ontario Sires Stakes record set by Geartogear at Windsor Raceway in 2004. The pacing colt also lowered his own track record, set in the Upper Canada Cup Consolation on May 28, by two-fifths of a second.
Celebrity Citation closed hard but could only get within half a length of Watermelonwine and driver Jody Jamieson. Drain Daddy was five lengths back in third.
Dave Menary conditions Watermelonwine for Brad Gray of Dundas, ON. Through five sophomore starts the son of Life Sign has posted three wins, for earnings of $59,500, adding to the $175,840 he earned at two.
Jamieson also piloted the winner of the other pacing colt split, guiding favourite Mystician to a 1:51.3 victory. Mystician reeled in pacesetter Prodigal Seelster, who hit the wire in lockstep with Some Mach Some Win causing a dead heat. Fred Brayford of Alliston shares ownership of Some Mach Some Win with Arthur Slack of Rockwood and trainer Colin Johnson of Le Gardeur, QC.
The winner of the $500,000 Upper Canada Cup Final at Georgian Downs on May 28, Mystician is trained by Jeff Gillis of Hillsburgh for his partners Ken Henwood of Mississauga, Mac Nichol of Burlington and Gerald Stay of Buffalo, NY. Through five starts the Camluck son has two wins, one second and one third for earnings of $298,000.
In trotting filly action, last year’s Super Final champion Oh Sweet Baby went gate-to-wire in dominant fashion, reaching the wire four lengths ahead of Eagle Canada and Zorgwijk Locket in a clocking of 1:55.2.
Ben Baillargeon trains Oh Sweet Baby and his brother Mario Baillargeon handles driving duties on the Angus Hall daughter. Owned by Richard Berthiaume of Pointe-Aux-Trembles, QC, the filly now has a sophomore record of two wins and one third in six starts, with her other victory coming in a May 20 Gold Elimination at Western Fair Raceway.
Peach Martini resumed a familiar role as Gold Elimination winner in the other trotting filly split. Last season the Striking Sahbra miss won every Gold Elimination she entered, but was only able to capture one Gold Final title. Driver-trainer Rick Zeron of Oakville and his partners Michael Katz of Thornhill, Stephen Waldman of Toronto and Rojan Stables of Wilmington, DE, would love to see that statistic flipped on its head this season.
Peach Martini also controlled the pace in her elimination, reaching the wire one and a half lengths ahead of fan favourite Lukes Sophie in a personal best 1:56. China Pearls, owned by Ted Murrell of Sharon, Carman Hie Stable Inc. of Rockwood, Blake Anthony of Millgrove and Peter Kloepfer of Harley, finished third.
Reigning Super Final champion Daylon Magician captured the sole trotting colt elimination, reaching the finish line one and three-quarter lengths ahead of Lakefield and Undercover Strike in 1:54. The Kadabra son, bred, owned and trained by David Lemon of Komoka, was driven to the win — his fourth of the season — by regular partner Jack Moiseyev.
The province’s most gifted trotters and pacers will return to Georgian Downs next Saturday, July 9 for the track’s outstanding Gold Rush event. The complete line-ups for each $130,000 Gold Final are as follows:
Trotting Colt and Gelding Gold Final — July 9 at Georgian Downs
Post 1 Tamarind
Post 2 Max Money
Post 3 Mr Joe Sixpack
Post 4 Sim Brown
Post 5 Undercover Strike
Post 6 Mister Herbie
Post 7 Imperial Count
Post 8 Daylon Magician
Post 9 Lakefield
Also Eligible 1 Attorney Hanover
Also Eligible 2 Delcrest Julian
Pacing Filly Gold Final — July 9 at Georgian Downs
Post 1 Look Cheap
Post 2 Shipps Xanadu
Post 3 Modern Connection
Post 4 Waasmula
Post 5 Athenas Legacy
Post 6 Village Janus
Post 7 Patsys Luck
Post 8 Camille
Post 9 Monkey On My Wheel
Also Eligible 1 Machs Delicacy
Also Eligible 2 Lauren
Also Eligible 3 Imagine Semalu
Trotting Filly Gold Final — July 9 at Georgian Downs
Post 1 Peach Martini
Post 2 Oh Sweet Baby
Post 3 Eagle Canada
Post 4 Lukes Sophie
Post 5 China Pearls
Post 6 L A Freeway
Post 7 Summer Of Love
Post 8 Zorgwijk Locket
Post 9 Shez So Striking
Also Eligible 1 Nordic De Vie
Also Eligible 2 Surveillance
Also Eligible 3 Wendy Woo
Pacing Colt and Gelding Gold Final — July 9 at Georgian Downs
Post 1 Prodigal Seelster
Post 2 Watermelonwine
Post 3 Live And Learn
Post 4 Dreamfair Kovu
Post 5 Some Mach Some Win
Post 6 Mystician
Post 7 Celebrity Citation
Post 8 Drain Daddy
Post 9 Cam B Zipper
Also Eligible 1 Machal Jackson
Also Eligible 2 Lifeoftheoldboy
Also Eligible 3 My Man Charley
For complete results please go to: Georgian Downs Results — July 2, 2011