CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — When Northern Harmony steps in behind the gate for her final Gold Elimination start at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening, the two-year-old pacing filly will be putting a six-race win streak on the line and sharpening her skills for the lucrative provincial Finals on her dance card in the coming weeks.
With a near flawless season that has included 10 wins from 11 starts and earnings of $385,337, Northern Harmony is the darling of the Ontario Sires Stakes freshman pacing filly division. Her season has been a thrill for all of her owners, but especially for Etobicoke’s Angelo Dinardo who hit the jackpot on his first spin as a Standardbred owner.
“This is unbelievable for me, it’s amazing. I still pinch myself every morning,” says Dinardo. “I’ve been going to the track for a long time, but I always looked at the odds. Now I’m looking at the horses. It’s been a great thrill.”
Dinardo’s entry into the world of ownership came after a chance meeting with old friend Don Bray of Newcastle. The two had worked together many years ago and one night at Woodbine Dinardo mentioned that he would like to own a piece of a horse and asked Bray to keep him in mind if he ever needed an additional partner. Shortly after that Bray, trainer Murray Brethour of Sunderland and Murray Shapely of Richmond Hill acquired Northern Harmony and Bray invited his old friend on board.
The filly trained well all winter, qualified smartly at Kawartha Downs on June 20 and won her first start at Georgian Downs on June 25 in a remarkable 1:57.3. Soon after that the telephone started to ring and Brethour and Shapely opted to sell their share of the filly to current owners Gerrie Tucker of Montreal, QC and Sampson Street Stables of Old Forge, PA, but Dinardo says that while the purchase offer was good, it never tempted him or Bray.
“It wasn’t a tough decision for myself or Don. I told Don that I wanted to watch the horse race. That’s why I got into it, to watch her race,” he explains. “I have the utmost respect for Murray, he does a great job and he’s a very honest individual. It’s actually because of him that we got to keep our share.
“And I owe Donny quite a bit. He’s not selfish at all, he’s not afraid to help out his friends. He’s one of those people who would do anything for you.”
Following the sale Northern Harmony moved into the Bill Robinson barn and Dinardo continued to go and watch her race. Of her 11 races he has only missed the two which fell during his holidays. He and Bray have travelled together to Woodbine, Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa, Flamboro Downs and Windsor Raceway and will be on hand when their protege lines up at Post 3 in the fourth race at Mohawk on Monday night.
“Mr. Robinson has been taking good care of her, he wants the best for her,” says Dinardo. “I just found out that she has Post 3 in the fourth race and that will be after a month off so we’ll see what happens Monday.”
Randy Waples has been the filly’s regular driver since her first Ontario Sires Stakes start, and although he has the choice of three Robinson trainees in Monday’s Gold Elimination, he is expected to be aboard the division leader for the duration of her season.
With only 10 fillies signed up for Monday’s contest the Elimination will go for a purse of $112,831 and all 10 will be eligible to return to Mohawk for the $130,000 Gold Final on Nov. 4.
Mohawk Racetrack sends its first race behind the starting gate at 7:40 pm Monday and Northern Harmony and her peers will light up the evening sky in Race 4. Fans who cannot make it to the racetrack can catch all the action on cable television’s The Score.