McEneny aiming to fine tune for Super Final

OCT. 1, 2016 – From rain, to wind, to fog, Ontario's harness racing best have not allowed the weather to deter them as they wrap up their Ontario Sire Stakes Gold Series regular seasons at Mohawk Racetrack this weekend.

On Saturday it was the two-year-old pacing colts' turn to shine through the fog, competing in a pair of $105,000 Gold divisions, and Streakavana landed his third Gold trophy in the first split.

Sent off as the fan favourite, Streakavana left smartly from Post 5 and landed fourth on the rail as Big Bad Bill rolled out to a :26.2 opening quarter. Heading for the :55.2 half driver Sylvain Filion of Milton tipped Streakavana out behind Classic Pro and followed that colt into the final turn before swinging out three-wide. A head in front by the 1:25.2 three-quarters, Streakavana accelerated down the stretch to a one length victory in 1:53.1. Mc Mach closed hard to be second, leaving mid-race pacesetter Southwind General to settle for third.

"He was good tonight, but he's not as good as he was when he qualified," said trainer Scott McEneny, referring to Streakavana's 1:52.4 clocking in a Sept. 9 qualifier. "I thought when he qualified he was just a monster, and Sylvain thought that too, but he's better than what he was and hopefully we can get him better for the Super Final."

Streakavana made his debut in the July 7 Grassroots season opener at Mohawk, finishing second, and then won three straight at the Campbellville oval, capturing two Gold events (July 16 and Aug. 11) and one overnight event (Aug. 5). After his impressive qualifier, the son of Big Jim and Stonebridge Madona made the trip to Grand River Raceway for the Sept. 19 Gold event and finished a disappointing fifth. McEneny says a number of factors played into the gelding's first off the board result, starting with a tough trip to the Elora oval.

"It was just weird the way he trucked over. I had to stop the trailer three or four times, and he was just all wound up," recalled McEneny, who conditions the gelding for Brad Grant and Teresa Davidson of Milton, ON. "He's just a little bit of a nervous horse and I think he just got too wound up that day."

Streakavana's caretaker Stacey Currie ensured the gelding arrived at Mohawk in a calmer frame of mind on Saturday, riding in the trailer with her nervous charge.

"He rode over good, he came off the trailer good," said McEneny, who is stabled at Classy Lane Training Centre in Puslinch, ON. "Stacey's been a big help for me this year. She can do everything, she's not afraid to work, and she loves her horses."

McEneny and Currie will spend the next two weeks ensuring Streakavana is in peak form for the Oct. 15 Super Final – the gelding leads the division with 155 points – and then start looking forward to his sophomore campaign.

"That's all he was paid in was the Sires Stakes, so he'll only have seven or eight starts," said Waterdown, ON resident McEneny. "I think we'll pay him up in a little more next year, because I think he'll get to be a better horse next year, he's got a big motor in him. Like that day he qualified, he was in with three-year-olds and he went by them with the plugs in and a bow in his neck, so I think he's got a big motor in him for next year, hopefully."

Streakavana

In the second division Mohawk fans sent Classic Pro off as the favourite, but it was second choice Machin A Trick who sprinted down the stretch to a one-half length victory in 1:53.2.

Starting from Post 7, Machin A Trick got away at the back of the field of eight, 13 lengths behind early leader Bet On Brett at the :26.3 quarter, and was still eighth when Happy Trio reached the half in :55.3. Moving up the outer lane, driver James MacDonald had moved Machin A Trick into sixth by the 1:25.1 three-quarters and sent him out three-wide. The son of Mach Three and Tricky kicked home in :27.1 to claim the victory, leaving Bet On Brett and Classic Pro to settle for second and third.

"I didn't want to be too far out of it, but sometimes you can't really help what you're dealt with, so when the trip worked out like it did I moved him and he was gone," said Guelph, ON resident MacDonald from the winner's circle. "When you come off a helmet he's going; he's gonna go by whoever he's following."

MacDonald engineered Machin A Trick's first Gold Series win for trainer Jeff Gillis of Everett and his partners Mac Nichol of Burlington, ON and Gerald Stay of Buffalo, NY. The victory, added to one second, one third and one sixth in his first three Gold outings, gives Machin A Trick 90 points and puts him sixth in the division standings. While Saturday's win was Machin A Trick's first in Gold competition, he has posted two wins in overnight action, both coming at Mohawk.

Machin A Trick

Machin A Trick, Streakavana and the other colts among the top 10 point earners will return to the Campbellville oval for the season ending Super Final on Oct. 15.

The two-year-old trotting colts and two-year-old pacing fillies wrap up their Gold Series regular season at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday and their connections will be hoping the forecast for clear skies is an accurate one. The trotting colts will wage their last Gold Series battles in Races 2 and 3, while the pacing fillies square off in Races 6 and 9. The evening's first race goes postward at 7:30 pm.

Ontario Racing