SARNIA, ON — Teacher Supreme scored her third straight Grassroots victory in front of a hometown crowd at Hiawatha Horse Park on Thursday evening.

The two-year-old pacing filly and driver Reg Gassien wowed local supporters by flying out of Post 9 and claiming the early lead with a :27.1 opening quarter. Gassien cooled things off through the :57.2 half and 1:27.2 three-quarters and then shifted Teacher Supreme back into gear to fight off challenger Kismet Killean and claim the 1:57 victory by a quarter of a length. Galaxy Any Size rounded out the top three in the $17,821 contest.

Trainer Jim Ainsworth of Sarnia shares ownership on Teacher Supreme with Claude Pearson of Tilbury and William Boden of Vancouver, BC. The 1:57 mile was a personal best for the Dexter Nukes miss and boosted her to the top of the division standings with a perfect 150 points through three Grassroots outings.

After Teacher Supreme’s victory things did not go quite as planned for the Ainsworth fillies, as Gassien pulled Maryanne Supreme up at the three-quarter pole in the fifth race and Snooze Supreme finished third with broken equipment in Race 9. Gassien, however, made another trip to the winner’s circle, piloting Chillmetodbone to a win in the fastest of the six Grassroots divisions for trainer Tom Artandi.

Leaving from Post 3, fan favourite Chillmetodbone was quick to assume command of the pace and led the field through opening fractions of :28.1 and :58.2. En route to the 1:27 three-quarters Chillmetodbone came under heavy pressure from Infamous Dame, but the Astreos daughter prevailed and sailed home to a three length victory in 1:56.3. Pacific Yankee and Monte Carlo Madam earned a few extra Grassroots points with their second and third-place finishes in Race 2.

Alan Ward of Etobicoke, Karl Ungerman of Toronto, John Simmonds of King City and Ferdinand Monteleone of Pompano Beach, FL own Chillmetodbone, who was making her first start in the Grassroots program after spending the opening months of her season battling the Gold Series fillies.

Back To Good and ICU Roller claimed their second straight Grassroots victories in Races 5 and 8, both employing come from behind strategies to get the job done.

With owner and trainer Greg Drew of Merlin in the race bike, Back To Good sat fifth through much of Race 5 before sprinting down the stretch to snatch the 1:57.2 victory away from Fantasy Winner by a neck. Pacesetter Avril settled for second.

With just one qualifier and three starts under her belt, Back To Good has yet to be bested. The $14,000 yearling has already earned Drew $19,060.

ICU Roller and Kevin Wallis left smartly from Post 5, landed in the pocket and then fired out down the stretch to claim a two length victory in 1:56.4. Fan favourite CMR Maybe Loaded settled for second, two lengths behind ICU Roller, and Rustina was six lengths back in third.

Gregory Britton trains Intrepid Seelster daughter ICU Roller for Diane Norris of Pompano Beach, FL and Clifford Grundy of Howell, MI.

The other two Grassroots divisions went to Tyme Seelster in 1:58.1 and Awesome Beginning in 1:58.2. The fillies wrap up their Grassroots regular season on Sept. 30 at Grand River Raceway before the top 16 point earners head to Georgian Downs for Semifinal action on Oct. 8.

Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Hiawatha Horse Park next Thursday, Sept. 22 with the second last regular season event for the talented three-year-old trotting colts.

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rsarfth.html