Taurasi notched his seventh straight victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (March 23) evening in the featured $36,000 Preferred Pace.
Saulsbrook Victor (Brett MacDonald) took the early lead and set the tempo with panels in :26.2 and :54.2. Taurasi (Doug McNair) got away third, with a gap between him and Tells On A Roll (Travis Cullen) until the field neared the three-quarters. Just before that mark in 1:23, Tells On A Roll, coming off four straight wins in the Mares Preferred class, pulled the pocket and Taurasi made a three-wide bid against the duelling leaders. Down the stretch, Taurasi made a successful swoop to the top to win by a length in 1:50.2. Tells On A Roll finished second and Points North (Jonathan Drury) took the show spot.
Brad Grant and Alagna Racing Llc co-own the five-year-old Racing Hill-Voluminous gelding. Since arriving on Canadian soil last December, Taurasi has had one third followed by seven straight victories. His five starts of 2024 have been perfect, yielding $90,000 to start the year and pushing his career total to $491,321. He boasts a lifetime record of 17-5-5 from 36 starts. The heavily backed favourite returned $2.40 to win.
Sylvain Filion and Whichwaytothebeach won the $30,000 second leg of the New Holland Pacing Series on the evening card. The pair got away fourth from post three, maintaining position through an opening panel in :26.3 before sweeping to the top on a first-over journey through the half in :55. After that split, Whichwaytothebeach found position along the pylons. He clicked the three-quarters in 1:22.3 before opening up in the final turn en route to a 3-1/4 length triumph in 1:50.3. His stablemate, The Greek Freak (Tyler Jones), finished second and Uncle Shank A (James MacDonald) completed the triactor.
Garry Merner trains the six-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-Swinging Beauty gelding for Gino Toscani. A winner of $820,753 in career earnings, Whichwaytothebeach moved his career record to 20-12-8 from 77 starts. The victory was his second in seven starts this year. He returned $9.70 from 4-1 odds.
The finals of the New Holland Series, which is open to non-winners of $150,000 (fillies and mares $175,000) in 2023, will be held on Saturday, March 30.
A reminder that Woodbine Mohawk Park is closed from Monday, March 24 to Friday, March 29, with training and racing resuming on Saturday, March 30. There will be an early post time on Saturday evening of 6:10 p.m.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)