Three-year-old trotting fillies were the stars of the Thursday evening show at Mohawk Racetrack, as the Campbellville oval hosted a set of $105,000 division of the OSS Gold Series.
Elegant Serenity remains perfect this season following her 1:53.3 victory in the first division. Trained and driven by Roger Mayotte, the daughter of Kadabra-Elegantimage got away seventh and remained there until the final quarter of the rich contest. Meadow Seelster and race favourite Youre Majestic took turns on the lead through fractions of :27.3, :56.1 and 1:25, but it was Elegant Serenity sailing by them all in the lane thanks to a :27.2 kicker. She won by three-quarters of a length over Juanitas Fury, with third prize going to The Grand Filly.
Bred and owned by Doug Millard of Woodstock, Ontario, Elegant Serenity upped her lifetime earnings to $99,518 with the win. She’s now 3-for-3 this season after going 0-for-7 last year.
Muscle Baby Doll won as she pleased in the second division for the tandem of driver Doug McNair and trainer Tony O’Sullivan. The daughter of Muscle Mass-Have You Ever slid into the four-hole in the early going before pulling first-over on the way to the mid-way point. Tymal Signature led to the quarter in :27 before being overtaken by Second Sister who then took the field through middle panels of :56.3 and 1:25.1. Muscle Baby Doll pressed that leader all the way around the last turn before using a :28.2 closing quarter to win by 6-1/4 lengths over Second Sister in 1:53.3. Aspen California stick-handled through horses late and grabbed the third prize.
F Bellino And Sons LLC of Bronxville, New York owns the trotting lass who is now 3-for-4 this year. The seven-time winner has put more than $75,000 on her card this year and more than $223,000 to date.
There was a delay to start Thursday’s card due to a pre-race mishap that took place prior to Race 1. A pair of horses – P L Icabod (James MacDonald) and Markets Up (Chris Christoforou) – collided while warming up.
Chris Christoforou got banged up in the mishap, and as a result opted to book off his Thursday evening drives. He’s scheduled to drive in all 15 of Friday morning’s two-year-old qualifiers at Mohawk Racetrack. The horse he was scheduled to drive, Markets Up, didn’t suffer any serious injuries despite falling.
P L Icabod and driver James MacDonald came away from the incident unscathed. The trotter, however, made an early break and finished eighth.
(Standardbred Canada)
