SARNIA, ON — She’s Almost Famous delivered another impressive come from behind performance at Hiawatha Horse Park on Thursday to emerge into the Ontario Sires Stakes two-year-old pacing filly limelight.
A runner-up to Gold Series division leader Lucks Mistress in her first two lifetime starts, She’s Almost Famous hit the wire three and three quarter lengths ahead of Lucky Angel and A And Gs Wally and stopped the Hiawatha clock at 1:56 on the cool summer evening.
Leaving from Post 3 driver Randy Waples had positioned the Apaches Fame daughter in eighth place as pacesetter Bella Reena rolled to a :27.1 opening quarter. Heading for the :56 half Waples sent She’s Almost Famous to the outside and they began to claw their way toward the front. At the 1:26.2 three-quarters the pair were three wide, along with three other fillies eager to bypass the stalling leaders, and by the top of the stretch She’s Almost Famous was powering to the front.
Jeff Gillis trains She’s Almost Famous for his partners All In Stride Stable of Pickering and the Guelph resident earned his first Ontario Sires Stakes victory of the season with the filly’s effort.
Hiawatha fans sent She’s Almost Famous off as their top choice and reaped $4.80, $2.70 and $2.90 for their wisdom. Runner-up Lucky Angel went to the post as the second choice in the 10-filly field and returned $11.30 and $5.20, while longshot A And Gs Wally paid $16.40 to show. An exactor ticket with the top two fillies returned $18.10 and adding the longshot on to a triactor play earned fans $390.60.
Longshot Lady Dillinger scored a narrow upset in the first $56,230 elimination, sticking a nose in front of favourite Babyremembermyname to earn her first victory of the season. The D M Dilinger daughter and driver Paul Mackenzie out sprinted Babyremembermyname and Phil Hudon to record the 1:56.4 victory, with Teig N Riley rounding out the top three.
Gaetan Hebert of Freelton bred, owns and trains Lady Dillinger, who was third in the July 20 Gold Elimination at Kawartha Downs and fifth in the July 27 Final.
The filly’s surprise victory earned her supporters $23.50 on a win ticket, $6.10 to place and $6.40 on a show wager. Favourite Babyremembermyname returned $3.00 to place and $2.90 to show, while Teig N Riley paid $3.60 to show. The exactor was worth $40.90 and the triactor paid out $305.30 for each $2 wager.
Fourth-place finishers Late Curfew and Dream Island, plus one of fifth-place finishers Just Rich Enough and Shessospecial, will join the top three fillies from each elimination in the $130,000 Gold Final on Thursday, Aug. 12 at Hiawatha Horse Park.