While the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series highlighted the Thursday (Sept. 7) card at Woodbine Mohawk Park as the feature races for the evening, Frenchy Hanover stole the show in a $17,000 condition trot as the three-year-old filly gave Sandi Lawrence her first career training win.
With Doug McNair in the bike, the International Moni-Frenchfrysnvinegar filly made every pole a winning one to take the victory in her field of 10 trotters. Frenchy Hanover posted panels in :29, :58.2 and 1:27 before using a :29 last quarter to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:56. Glenfidich (Sylvain Filion) was second and Hp Joni Moni (Louis-Philippe Roy) took third.
A resident of Guelph, Ont., Sandi Lawrence co-owns Frenchy Hanover with Shawn Irvin and Travis Moore. The win was a career best for the filly, who scored for the second time in 18 career starts. She paid $11.70 to win.
Vis A Vis Bluechip kicked off the OSS Grassroots action and won his $22,600 division for freshman pacing colts and geldings.
The Paul Davies trainee and Trevor Henry followed leading Like A Glove (Tyler Moore) in the pocket through panels in :26.1 and :56.1 before Unrivaled Hanover (Jonathan Drury) took over from the outside en route to the 1:24.1 three-quarters. In the final turn, a match race formed between Vis A Vis Bluechip and Unrivaled Hanover and down to the wire, Vis A Vis Bluechip prevailed to win by a half-length in 1:52.1. Century Komodo (Bob McClure) rallied from eighth to take the show spot.
Vis A Vis Bluechip (Bettors Delight - Sunnynseventyfive) posted his career-best time from two wins in six starts. He is owned by Paul and Nicole Davies. He paid $16.80 to win.
McWicked Time and Travis Cullen posted a 1:52.2 final time, getting up to the wire just in time to win the $23,000 division for the male rookie pacers.
From post six in the field of 10, Mcwicked Time landed in eighth, trailing 9-3/4 lengths off of leading Good Omen (Paul MacDonell), who clicked the opening panel timer in :26.2. An outer charge was sparked by Chalk Hanover (Tyler Borth), who ended up three-wide going to the half in :56 and whose efforts were followed from a distance in eighth by McWicked Time. The Robert Robinson trainee kept plugging away and hit sixth by the time the three-quarters was reached in 1:24.1. D A McDreamy had led for most of the way and closed in on the wire rapidly, but McWicked Time surged in deep stretch to win by a head. Southwind Circuit (Roy) was third.
A winner of three races from nine starts and $43,987, the freshman son of McWicked-Freetime is owned by Jacqueline Dinelle. The mile was a career-best time for McWicked Time. He paid $7.10 to win.
T H McMurry capped off the stakes action for the evening with a gate-to-wire triumph in the final freshman male division worth $22,600.
Roy and T H McMurry made every call through panels in :27, :56.4 and 1:26.2 en route to a four-length romp in 1:52.3. Enforcer (McNair) followed the pocket trip to second with Be Right There (McClure) third.
Jeff Taylor trains the freshman McWicked-Waasmula gelding, who made his third winner's circle appearance in six starts. Taylor co-owns T H Mcmurry, a winner of $77,166, with Siobhan Andrusek and Graeme Mitchell. He paid $2.90 to win.
To view Thursday's harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.