INNISFIL, ON — Harness racing fans flocked to Georgian Downs on Saturday night for the Grassroots Semifinals and, as expected, the top three-year-old trotters and pacers in Ontario delivered eight races packed with thrilling victories, stunning upsets and stirring finishes.
Pacing filly Illusionist kicked things off with a commanding 1:55.3 triumph in the first $30,000 Semifinal. The Camluck daughter fired directly to the front from Post 6 and laid down fractions of :28, :59.1 and 1:27.3 on her way to the two and three-quarter length victory in 1:55.3. Sentbytheangels and She’s A Blast closed hard to finish second and third, while Casper nailed down a spot in next Saturday’s $100,000 Grassroots Championship with her fourth-place effort.
Jody Jamieson drove Illusionist to the victory for his father, trainer Carl Jamieson, and owners Scott Enman of Pickering, Larry Cometto of Oshawa and John Dragojevic of Nobleton.
In the second pacing filly Semifinal longshot Keltic Sarah sprinted from the back of the field to scoop up the 1:55.4 victory. Warrawee Flare attempted to steal the race with fractions of :26.2, :55.4 and 1:25.1, but ran out of gas in the stretch.
McGregor resident Rankin shares ownership on the Rambaran daughter with The Keltic Racers of Brighton, MI and also trains the filly.
Longshots Village Blush, Patty Ben Beau and Alls Well rounded out the top four in the second race, while local filly Tosexyforthedriver, owned by Mardon Stables of Loretto, finished a quarter length shy of next week’s Championship in fifth.
Favourite Summerhill Hallie held off French Brocade to score a half length victory in the first trotting filly Semifinal. The Angus Hall daughter and driver Dave Boughton employed a front end strategy to secure the 1:59.4 score for trainer Ron O’Neill and owners Debi Martin and Paul Larrabee of Freelton and Daniel Harper of Toronto.
Lexus Lulu finished third and, after drawing in from the also eligible list when Tenacious Dream was scratched due to sickness, Incredible Mother capitalized on her good fortune and earned a spot in the $100,000 Final with a fourth-place effort.
The other trotting filly Semifinal saw favourite Raising The Bar employ similar front end tactics to post the 1:59.2 win over P C Dreams, Sno Doubt About It and Very Violet. Trainer-driver Tom Durand of Puslinch shares ownership on Raising The Bar, an Angus Hall sibling to his $1.3 million winning mare Casual Breeze, with breeder Diane Ingham of Mount Pleasant and Ron Durand of Paris.
Island Zeeker proved he is in peak form with a 1:54.2 upset in the first pacing colt Semifinal. The Albert Albert son, trained by Scott McNiven and driven to the victory by Jody Jamieson, will ride a four race win streak into next weekend’s Championship. McNiven trains the talented pacer for breeder Donald Douglas of Ingersoll.
Like Incredible Mother, Whitesand Lord lucked into a spot in the Semifinal when Cherry Tree Chuck was scratched due to sickness and parlayed his good fortune into a berth in the $100,000 Final with a second-place finish. Mustang Any Size and Elm Grove Operativ picked up the other two spots.
The other pacing colt Semifinal also featured an upset as Great Expense powered out from behind pacesetter Tristin Seelster around the final turn and pulled away to a one length victory in 1:54.1. The Rustler Hanover half-brother to former Ontario Sires Stakes superstar Sir Luck is trained by Bill Budd and owned by C And I Siegel Racing Stable of Staten Island, NY.
Bootilicious, HBFs Power Play and fan favourite Northern Raucous also extended their Grassroots season by one week.
In the first trotting colt contest favourite Schemin N Dreamin romped to a commanding four and three-quarter length victory in 2:00.1. Mark MacDonald drove the Incredible Abe son to the win for trainer Mark Steacy of Lansdowne and his partners David Reid of Glenburnie, Malcolm Man Son Hing of Nepean and Stan Klemencic of Trenton.
TJs Incredible Lad earned the second-place finisher’s share, while Robert Lavictoire and Onyx Seelster were 10 lengths behind the winner in third and fourth spot.
Favourite Mr Bitter wrapped up the evening with a one length victory over Shady Suspect, Fast Johnny and Odee Scoot. For the second straight week the Mr Lavec colt halted the Georgian Downs teletimer at 1:59.3, one second off the 1:58.2 personal best he scored at the Innisfil oval in a Sept. 25 overnight race.
Stephen Byron drove Mr Bitter to the victory for trainer Alan and Cloah Fair of Ancaster.
Next Saturday, Oct. 30 the top four finishers from each Semifinal will return to Georgian Downs to battle for Grassroots supremacy in four $100,000 Championship events and, if the elimination round is anything to judge by, fans are in for a spectacular night of racing.