GLOUCESTER, ON — Northern Harmony scored her fourth straight win with a victory in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Elimination at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Friday evening.
The two-year-old pacing filly and driver Ted McDonald took control of the race as soon as the track announced called, “And they’re off,” and never looked back, rolling through fractions of :27.3, :57.3 and 1:26.3 en route to the 1:55.4 victory. Sent off as the definitive favourite, Northern Harmony never gave Rideau Carleton fans reason to doubt as she cruised to the four length win over The Patriot and Please Me Please.
“This was my first ever drive for trainer Bill Robinson and I knew I had to have a machine,” said driver McDonald after the race. “I realized at the three-quarter mile marker that I was the winner because Mario (Baillargeon), who had one of the better ones in the race (Tribute To Heroes), was all done and backing through the field.”
Trainer Bill Robinson of Hagersville conditions Northern Harmony for owners Gerrie Tucker of Montreal, Sampson Street Stables of Old Forge, PA, Don Bray of Newcastle and Angelo Dinardo of Etobicoke. While Bray and Dinardo have owned shares of the talented filly since last fall, Tucker and Sampson Street Stables acquired their portion just before her first Gold Series Elimination victory at Woodbine Racetrack on July 1. With $138,995 earned since then, the filly looks like a better investment than anything listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
If Northern Harmony were a publicly traded commodity Ted McDonald would be rushing to see his broker. The veteran reinsman was so impressed by the filly’s effort that he was predicting a Gold Final victory before the dust had even settled from the Elimination.
“The racing fans at Rideau Carleton Raceway will be in for a treat next week in the Gold Final,” he said. “And I plan on returning to this very winner’s circle for the top prize.”
With just nine fillies making the trip to Ottawa for the elimination round, all nine are able to advance to next Monday’s $130,000 Gold Final, and each one will be attempting to ruin McDonald’s plans and bring a stop to Northern Harmony’s march through the freshman pacing filly division.