ELORA, ON — CS R Hope opened her sophomore Ontario Sires Stakes campaign with an impressive win in Grassroots action at Grand River Raceway on Monday evening.
With trainer Wayne Henry in the race bike the three-year-old trotting filly took command of the fourth race just past the quarter mile marker and proceeded to accelerate away from her peers with every step. Reaching the wire in 2:01.4, the CR Renegade daughter was five lengths ahead of Vijay Star and fan favourite Youknowyouwantto.
Owned by the Henry Stable of Arthur, CS R Hope was a three-time winner in the Grassroots program as a two-year-old and looks on track to match that tally this season.
Upsets were the rule rather than the exception at Grand River on Monday evening as only one favourite earned a Grassroots trophy. In the first race fan favourites Corries Glory and driver Stephen Byron delivered a victory in spite of an early break that saw them more than 16 lengths behind their peers in the opening stages of the race.
The pair sat outside through the entire mile and still had enough power to sweep three wide heading down the backstretch for the second time and then sprint down the stretch to a three and three-quarter length victory in 2:04.3. Bullville Peachy edged out Incredibly Elegant for second spot in the $15,000 contest.
Richmond Hill resident Thomas Artandi trains Striking Sahbra daughter Corries Glory for his partners John Simmonds of King City and the Estate of Karl Ungerman of Toronto. The win was the filly’s first in 16 lifetime starts.
Byron was back in the winner’s circle after Race 6 with John Bax trainee Gramola Grande. Opting for a similar strategy, Byron settled Gramola Grande in the middle of the pack and then circled three-wide at the three-quarters to move into contention. Shifting into high gear down the stretch, the Mr Lavec daughter pulled away from pacesetter Girls Legacy to post a two and a half length victory in 2:03.3. Keystone Alberta finished three more lengths behind Girls Legacy in third.
Glengate Farms of Campbellville, Ariel Stables of North York and Bax’s Parkhill Stud Farm of Peterborough share ownership on Gramola Grande, who boosted her record to two wins and one second in six starts this season.
One race later a trio of locally owned horses treated fans to a nail biting finish, hitting the wire with less than half a length separating them. When the dust settled Pacupnleave was declared the victor, leaving Strikingly Luvable, owned by the Henry Stable of Arthur and Alan Bodin of Rockwood, and Celsius Hanover, owned by Glengate Farms, trainer-driver Stephen Byron of Thornton and William Bryden of Orangeville, to settle for the second and third-place share of the $15,000 provincial purse.
Grand Valley resident James Ritchie trained and drove Pacupnleave to the 2:04.2 triumph for Paul Ritchie and Timothy Mitchell of Orangeville. The win was the second straight for the Yankee Paco daughter, who posted her first lifetime win at Grand River Raceway last Monday.
The other three Grassroots divisions went to In For A Treat in 2:03.4, Rumours in 2:02.1 and Delcrest Luckygirl in 2:02.
The three-year-old trotting fillies make their second Grassroots stop at Sudbury Downs on June 10, while Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Grand River Raceway on Monday, June 5 with a Trillium Series event for the talented three-year-old pacing fillies.
Complete results are available at:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rgrvrmo.html