Treasures Pearl, Bid Writer, Yaris Bayama And Sports Beauty- Four Sportswriters Win OSS Grassroot Divisions

 

Two-year-old pacing fillies sparred in a four-pack of $18,000 OSS Grassroots divisions Friday evening at Mohawk Racetrack, and if you didn’t have a Sportswriter filly you were chasing one.

Treasures Pearl, a Sportswriter miss out of the mare St Lads Treasure, took the opening split in 1:55.1 for driver Sylvain Filion. The Ron Adams pupil got away fifth and watched Lady Oxford and Mystical Moon take turns on the lead through panels of :28.1, :57 and 1:26.1. Filion was on the move going to the half with Treasures Pearl, who was three-wide and driving at the three-quarter pole. She used a :27.3 closing quarter to win by 1-1/2 lengths over Mystical Moon in 1:55.1. Southern Heart was third.

Sent off as the even-money favourite, Treasures Pearl bounced back from a disappointing ninth-place finish in last week’s pari-mutuel debut for owner/breeder Donald Leschied of South Woodslee, Ont.

Bid Writer, a daughter of Sportswriter-Bust Out The Bid, was a front-stepping winner in 1:55.3 in the second division for driver James MacDonald. He rolled his charge to the lead and they led the field through sensible splits of :29, :59.1 and 1:28 before rocketing home in :27.3 to win by a pair of lengths over Stellenbosch. Lotus Seelster finished third.

Trainer Jeff Gillis co-owns the $52,000 Lexington Select Yearling Sale purchase with Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont. and Gerald Stay of Buffalo, NY. The filly is a half-sister to Janns Bid (1:52.1 – $245,429) and a three-quarter sister to Spirit To Share (1:50.1 – $228.565).

Yaris Bayama was next in line to do her daddy proud. The Sportswriter-Lucky Josie lass powered to the lead from Post 7 and cruised through fractions of :28.1, :56.4 and 1:25.4 before winning in under wraps fashion by 1-3/4 lengths over Royal Point in 1:53.3. Race favourite P L Karis was third.

Stephane Larocque trains the homebred for Bayama Farms Inc of Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil, QC. She’s a half-sister to V I P Bayama (1:51.4 – $172,355).

Sports Beauty, a homebred daughter of Sportswriter-Shellys Delight, turned a second-over trip into a 1:56 triumph in the final division. She got away fifth for driver James MacDonald while Mach On and Loves Angel took turns on the lead through panels of :29, :58.1 and 1:27.1. MacDonald worked out cover in the backstretch for his charge, and when he flipped off cover in the lane Sports Beauty fired home in :28.2 to win by 1-1/4 lengths over P L Kahluaa. Casimir Q T took home the show dough.

Bred and owned by Frank Gentile of Beaconsfield, QC, the freshman made her pari-mutuel debut a winning one for trainer Mark Steacy. Sports Beauty is the full-sister to the stakes-winning Sports Bettor (1:53 – $198,107).

(Standardbred Canada)

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