SUDBURY, ON — Passion Lincoln maintained his status as top dog in the two-year-old pacing colt division with a victory at Sudbury Downs on Saturday evening.
The Village Jiffy son and driver Jody Jamieson made no bones about who was the best in Race 12, firing to the front from Post 5 and laying down fractions of :29.4, 1:02 and 1:32.4 en route to the 2:02 victory over Play For Silver and Grampas Dream.
Passion Lincoln remains undefeated through four Grassroots starts and sits well ahead of the second-place colt in the division standings with a total of 200 points. Carl Jamieson of Princeton trains the winner of $38,940 for his partners Gerald Ross of Downsview, Edward Smith of Mississauga and Brian Paquet of Quebec, QC. The quartet acquired Passion Lincoln for $14,000 at last fall’s Canadian Classic Yearling Sale.
Driver Reg Gassien and trainer Jim Ainsworth teamed up for a pair of wins at the northern oval on Saturday evening. The duo scored their first victory in Race 9 with Sunny Supreme, who grabbed control of the race with a bold three-wide move at the halfway marker and sailed home to a one length win in 2:01.3. Fit For Carl and Cloaked In Glory rounded out the top three in the $18,000 battle.
Sunny Supreme is undefeated in three lifetime starts for Sarnia resident Ainsworth and William Boden of Vancouver, BC. The win bumped the Northern Luck son into a five-way tie for sixth spot in the Grassroots point race.
Four races later Gassien used a similar strategy to earn Whitesand Lord his second straight Grassroots victory. Leaving from Post 6 the veteran reinsman eased Whitesand Lord off the gate and then sent him to the front heading past the half. The Camluck son extended his lead with every step, hitting the wire five lengths up on Mystic Beau and Mustang Any Size in 1:59.
Ainsworth, Boden and Ross Holmes of Ilderton share ownership on Whitesand Lord, who started his season in the Gold Series ranks before moving into the Grassroots in time for the Aug. 24 event at Dresden Raceway. The win moved the colt’s earnings to $51,573, just a hair shy of repaying his $52,000 purchase price.
The quickest mile, and the most surprising finish of the evening, came in Race 8 when Im A Rustler Too and Greg Wright, Jr. stormed around the half-mile oval to a 1:58.2 victory over Island Zeeker and Dreamfair Legacy, leaving fan favourite and reigning Gold Series champion Sauble Jackson to settle for the fourth-place finisher’s share, eight lengths to the rear.
Bob Young trains Im A Rustler Too for Jeffrey Cox of Litchfield, OH and Richard McNutt of Millersburg, OH. The win was the Rustler Hanover son’s second straight in Grassroots action and moved him into the tie for sixth in the standings.
Im A Lucky Cam also delivered a 1:58.2 mile with a five length victory in the eleventh race to join the ranks of two-time Grassroots winners tied for sixth in the standings. The Camluck son, driven by Don McElroy for trainer Robert McIntosh of La Salle and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington, easily bested Warrawee Flash and Bando Deister to claim the victory.
The other Grassroots divisions went to Sweet Fame in 1:59.1 and Keltic Baron in 1:59.4.
The two-year-old pacing colts will resume their Grassroots rivalry in two weeks, on Sept. 21, at Clinton Raceway, while Sudbury Downs fans get another shot of Grassroots wild card action next Saturday, Sept. 13 when the two-year-old trotting colts step into the spotlight.