WOODSTOCK, ON — Shami Cami kicked off an outstanding afternoon of Ontario Sires Stakes action at Woodstock Raceway on Saturday when she logged 1:59.3 victory in the first of six Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old pacing fillies.
The Scott McNiven trainee and driver Greg Dustin led from start to finish in the 1:59.3 mile, which was the first of three divisions that would lower the track record for freshman fillies at the Woodstock oval. Heading into Saturday’s contest the speed mark stood at 1:59.4, shared by OSS competitors Royas Tania and Change Of Address, and by the end of the day it would be two seconds lower.
Pat Me Up finished half a length behind Shami Cami, while third-place finisher Date With Jate and the remainder of the field were more than 12 lengths off the pace. The win vaulted Shami Cami into a tie for fourth in the Grassroots standings, with 100 points from a pair of victories. The Run The Table daughter is owned by breeders Twin B Stables Ltd. of Embro, Kimberley McNiven of Putnam and Bradley McNiven of Embro.
Ten days after being inducted into the Canadian Harness Racing Hall of Fame William “Bud” Fritz demonstrated the skill that earned him the honour in Races 3 and 6. The Walkerton resident teamed Brokenstar to the second record breaking mile of the day, recovering from a miscue at the start to score a 1:59.1 victory over Apaches Angel and Cam Nice Girl.
The Camluck filly, owned by Fritz and breeder Clarence Bast of Millbank, is undefeated in Grassroots action and sits atop the standings with 150 points from her trio of wins. In six starts Brokenstar has only been bested twice, finishing second and third on those occasions, for earnings of $36,982.
Fritz was back in the winner’s circle in the next division with Wendys Rocket, who eked out a head victory over pacesetter Putnam Kelly in the final strides of the 2:01 mile. Bloomingwood Farms of Harriston own the Pacific Rocket daughter, who set a track record at Sudbury Downs in her last Grassroots start. A pair of wins and one runner-up finish in three Grassroots starts place Wendys Rocket in a tie for second spot in the standings with 125 points.
Terra Cotta Fame finished six lengths behind the leaders in third-place.
Three races later Woodstock Raceway fans were treated to a brilliant speed display by the Grassroots lasses. Going Coastal rocked off the gate from Post 1 and led the field through sharp early fractions of :29.1 and :59.3. Heading by the 1:28.3 three-quarters Feathery Fame took control and maintained the torrid pace through the final turn. As the fillies straightened out driver Randy Fritz was reaching for the turbo button on Up Front American and the Rustler Hanover daughter responded with a finishing kick that powered her to a two and a half length win in a record shattering 1:57.4.
Mark Ford trains Up Front American for Ed Mullinax of Amherst, OH and the win boosted the filly’s record to two wins, one second and two thirds in 10 starts this season. The Gold Series regular was taking advantage of the wild card status of the Woodstock event and boosted her bank balance to $27,980 in the process.
The other two Grassroots divisions went to Walltowall Hanover in 1:58.4 and Dreams To Remember in 2:00.2.
The two-year-old pacing fillies make their next Grassroots start at Clinton Raceway on Sept. 29, while the Gold Series fillies head for Windsor Raceway on Sept. 22.
Saturday’s event wrapped up an outstanding Ontario Sires Stakes season at Woodstock Raceway, which saw two track records set by OSS competitors. In addition to Up Front American, three-year-old trotting filly Zola Smiger established a new standard on Aug. 31. The OSS program looks forward to a return engagement at Woodstock Raceway in 2003, when a new crop of two and three-year-old Standardbreds will be eager to make their mark on the provincial stage.