OCTOBER 2011 THE RIDER /79 Grassroots season comes to spectacular close at Mohawk
CAMPBELLVILLE, OCT. 2, 2011 — Ontario’s top pacers and trotters put on an impressive show for Mohawk Racetrack fans on Saturday evening as they battled in eight $100,000 Grassroots Championships.
Three-year-old trotting filly Defy Time was one of only three horses that were able to come back from a victory in the Semifinal to score a Grassroots title. Starting from Post 1, driver Scott Coulter opted to ease the filly off the starting gate and settle into fifth spot on the rail as Honey Thorn sprinted out to a :13.1 opening eighth and a :27.4 opening quarter.
Honey Thorn continued to lead the field of sophomore trotting lasses through the :58 half and the 1:27.2 three-quarters, but the assault up the outside had begun, with Zorgwijk Lunar, Defy Time and Magical Paige lining up to the pacesetter’s right. As the field turned for home Coulter tipped Defy Time out from behind Zorg- wijk Lunar and hit the accelerator and the South- fork daughter sprinted down the stretch to a one length victory in 1:56.2, peeling one-fifth of a second off the personal best she recorded in the Semifinal.
Zorgwijk Lunar and Magical Paige powered down the stretch into second and third, with fan favourite Here Comes Jenny settling for fourth, and Some Like It Hot rounding out the top five finishers.
ond wave of colts across the wire in fifth. “This guy here has just flourished, each week he just seems to be getting stronger and better,” said Jonathan Gangell, whose wife, train- er Sue Gangell of Simcoe, ON, and partner John Devito of Whitestone, NY purchased Tymal Recap in mid-August.
“It was nerve wracking, he was really tough though,” said the Simcoe resident of the stretch drive. “He’s never given up. The few times I’ve raced him he’s always trotted right to the wire.” His second win of the evening kept Coulter in the hunt for a top five finish in the Ontario Sires Stakes driver’s standings for the first time in his career. The 40-year-old reinsman’s OSS mounts, the bulk of them trotters, have earned over $540,000 this season and have him neck and neck with last year’s top reinsman Scott Zeron and World Driving Champion Jody Jamieson in the Lampman Cup point race.
“Scott had her in position with the second over trip; he drove her really good,” said trainer Ian Downey of St. George Brant. “He eased her out of there and started to move her, the horse went in front of her, and that took us to the head of the stretch. It worked out really well.” Downey conditions Defy Time for his wife Susan Downey of St. George Brant and Scott Maracle of Brantford. The win boosted Defy Time’s career tally to 12 wins, two seconds, one third and $127,085 in 21 starts.
Brantford resident Coulter made a second appearance in the winner’s circle with three-year- old trotting gelding Tymal Recap, who also improved on the personal best he recorded in the Semifinal round.
Rolling away from Post 5, Coulter dropped Tymal Recap into second behind early leader Winbak Hall, who rang up a :13 eighth and a :27.3 quarter before handing the lead off to Major Herbie. Major Herbie was alone on the front end through the :56.3 half, but heading to the 1:26.1 three-quarters Semifinal winners Tymal Recap and Here Comes Numbers were revving their engines on the outside.
The top four colts turned for home in a tight pack and pounded down the stretch to a thrilling finish that saw Tymal Recap earn a half-length victory in 1:55.2, Winbak Hall and Here Comes Numbers hit the wire almost simultaneously in second and third and Major Herbie earn the fourth-place finisher’s share from just one and one-quarter lengths back. Max Money led a sec-
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“I’m having a really good go, I couldn’t be happier really,” said Coulter after Defy Time’s victory. “People just kind of took to me this year. Maybe I turned a bit of a cor- ner as a driver, and maybe people saw that. And I got some opportunity on some
drew away from the field in the stretch, sailing under the wire two lengths ahead of Memum- snotnice and Katys Jet in a personal best 1:54.3. Semifinal winner Lyons Luck and Almost Mid- night completed the top five.
starts, for earnings of $83,645.
Campbellville resident Gord Remmen con- ditions Eat Me Up for David Ratchford of North Sydney, NS, who started the filly at Sydney’s Northside Downs before sending her to Remmen. “He phoned me and said, I think I’ve got a nice filly, but I’m not sure,” recalled Remmen. “She’s been a pleasure to have.”
Through 10 starts Eat Me Up has accumu- lated eight wins and two seconds, earning $154,950 for her delighted owners, who offered up $12,000 to acquire her at last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale.
Secretsoftheknight captured the two-year- old pacing colt title for trainer Gregg McNair of Guelph and owners Tony Lawrence of Hanover, Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, John Newell of Waterloo and Graham Hopkins of Chesley. The Mach Three son and driver Mike Saftic of Campbellville circled the tiring leaders at the three-quarter pole and sailed home to a two and three-quarter length win in an impressive 1:52.2. Iwilldowhatido and True To Mach also closed well to earn the second and third-place finisher’s share of the $100,000 purse, with Retail and Who Doesnt pacing into fourth and fifth.
nice young horses that were able to put their feet under them and behave themselves all year — and that makes me look smart — and things just went from there.”
Driver Sylvain Filion also aided his shot at a top five finish in the provincial standings with a pair of Grassroots Final victories. The Milton res- ident made his first appearance in the Grassroots winner’s circle with freshman trotting colt North- ern Victory, who reeled in the pacesetters through the stretch and sprinted home to a one length victory in 1:58.3.
Eastend Eddie, Mach It Big and Rileys Luck fin- ished in a pack behind the division point leader. St. George Brant resident MacArthur trains Musselsfrmbrussels for Anne and Mike Shunock, who have cheered the son of Modern Art home to eight wins, five seconds, one third and earnings of $161,810 in 23 starts this season.
The other division point leader to take home a Grassroots Final trophy was three- year-old pacing colt Musselsfrmbrussels, who got a flawless come-from-behind steer from trainer- driver Lyle MacArthur and cruised down the stretch to a two and three-quarter length victory in 1:50.4, matching his clock- ing from the Semifi- nal round. Second through fifth-place finishers Stolen Car,
Next year Beth Wallace will hope to be part of a winner’s circle celebration after her ballot was pulled in the Ontario Sires Stakes program’s Win The Thrill Grand Prize draw. The Dundas resident and her partners in The Dream Team Stable — the eleventh group in the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association’s New Owner Mentoring Program — will spend the winter learning about Standardbred ownership from mentor Brian Webster of St. George Brant and trainer Tony O’Sullivan of Cambridge, in hopes of cheering pacing colt Bad Boy Matt home to victory in the 2012-2013 Ontario Sires Stakes program.
“This has always been our dream, my hus- band’s and my dream, but I had to retire and with three kids in University, there’s no money for that now,” said Wallace, who underwent a kidney transplant in the spring after 14 months of dialy- sis. “So we thought this is not going to happen, and so… it has. So all of this stuff is kind of going through my brain, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, wow, wow.’
“I can’t wait to get home and call every- body,” added the delighted winner.
Semifinal winner Ill Be There finished sec- ond, Oaklea Umpire was another length back in third. San Pietro and Mikey Hanover completed the top five, while fan favourite Tymal Oh So Nice finished eighth.
“This is the biggest purse I’ve ever won,” said owner Robert Montgomery of Carp, who entrusts the colt’s care to longtime friend Rod Zeron of Oxford Mills. “I’m going to stay in the yearling game, I love it.”
The other sophomore trophy went home with owner-breeders Millar Farms of Newmar- ket, whose three-year-old pacing filly Three Charms delivered a seemingly effortless three length victory in 1:53.3. Stephen Byron crafted the Camluck daughter’s fourth victory for the Millars and trainer Eric Adams.
The outstanding evening of racing conclud- ed Mohawk Racetrack’s summer season, and Ontario Sires Stakes fans will now shift their attention to Woodbine Racetrack, where seven of eight Gold Series divisions will wrap up their regular seasons in the coming weeks. For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/racing/results/ data/r1001mohsn.dat.
Two-year-old trotting filly Thundering Ova- tion kicked off the spectacular evening of racing with a nose victory over Barbie And Ken in a personal best 1:58.3. Semifinal winner Majestic Taglet overcame Post 10 to finish third, with division point leader Dayplanner in fourth and Striking Forever fifth.
Filion’s second victory came aboard two- year-old pacing filly Eat Me Up, who was one of just two division point leaders to earn a Grass- roots title. The Mach Three daughter grabbed control of the race before the half and simply
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Guelph resident Anthony MacDonald engi- neered the front end performance for trainer Ger- ald Sloan and owners Joanne and Courtney Sloan, who also bred the daughter of Thunder Road and Shesintuff. The consistent youngster has a record of three wins and two seconds in six
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1/ Deborah and Louis Cauz, managing director of the Horse Rac- ing Hall of Fame.
2/ Rod Seiling, Chair of the Ontario Racing Commission. 3/ Vel Evans and Lisa Hocking
4/ Wendy Hoogeveen
5/ Ron Waples, Liz Waples (SBOA), Brian Webster - mentor for SBOA New Owner Mentoring Program, Karen Hauver (ORC). 6/ Beth Wallace Dundas, winner of the Win The Thrill contest,
received a cheque for $4,500. 7/ Barb & Mike Wilson 8/ Brent and Lori Stone.
Photos by The Rider.
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