Woodbine Mohawk Park contested the first leg of the Blizzard Series on Thursday, Mar. 11, with Louis-Philippe Roy winning two of the three divisions.
Roy expressed his unwillingness to take a hole with Filter Hanover in the first division by driving on from post seven, clearing to the front past the quarter in 28.4. The duo then carved out middle fractions of 57 and 1:26.2 as Filter Hanover and pocket rider Laila Blue (Doug McNair) separated themselves from the rest of the field. Filter Hanover had more late pace and survived a late rush to win by three quarters of a length in 1:57.1. Laila Blue had to settle for second, and Perfect Mia was third best.
That was Filter Hanover's sixth win from 26 appearances, and it increased her lifetime earnings to more than $60,000 for owners 9228 2599 Quebec Inc, Roger Bourgeois, Serge Leonard, and Jean Dessureault. Corey Johnson trains the daughter of Bettors Delight. She paid $4.90 to win.
Roy won the second division too, retaking the lead at three-eighths with Big Myrtle and once again fending off a late rush.
Happy Looker (Sylvain Filion) drove on to assume command by the quarter in 28.2, but Roy moved Big Myrtle almost instantly and acquired front end control before the half in 57.3. Big Myrtle carved out a 1:26.1 three-quarters and then repelled a stretch siege from Nice Kitty Hanover to win by three quarters of a length in 1:55.3. Nice Kitty Hanover took second, and Patricia Mae passed a tired foe late for third.
Big Myrtle is now four-for-17 lifetime with earnings totaling $61,740 for owners Doug Millard and Chantal Mitchell. Mitchell does the training on the Big Jim mare that paid $4.10 to win.
In the third division, Ruby On Rails wore down Larjon Leah to deny Roy a Blizzard Series sweep on the evening.
Roy again demanded the front, leaving second-fastest but pressing on to the lead before the quarter in 28.3. Nectar came out of third down the backside and took the top, leading through fractions of 58 and 1:27. Bob McClure activated Ruby On Rails from the backfield approaching the final turn, marching first up.
This triggered Roy, who left the pocket and went after Necater. Larjon Leah passed that opponent, but Ruby On Rails persisted down the lane and eventually defeated Larjon Leah to win by a half-length in 1:55.3. Larjon Leah was second, and Nectar held on for third.
Ruby On Rails has now won three races from 12 lifetime attempts and collected more than $30,000 in earnings for owners and breeders Millar Farms of Stouffville. Nick Galluci conditions the four-year-old Bettors Delight mare.
Roy missed out on a Blizzard Sweep, but he turned in a driving triple performance regardless. McClure also went for three, scoring in the third, seventh, and eighth.
Also on the card was an accident in the first race. Dont Dilly Dally was leading through the far turn, but he went rough-gaited, prompting harness racing driver Roy to slow him down. Just Plain Needy, who was behind them, struck Roy’s wheel and fell, ejecting driver Doug McNair. Red Dirt Fulofhart was tripped up in the incident too, falling to his knees, but he quickly got up and continued pacing; reinsman James Macdonald also went to the ground but came out of it on his feet. All other horses and drivers avoided the incident. Justa Bandit, the 4/5 favourite, went on to win the race.
Dont Dilly Dally and Roy stayed up throughout the incident. McNair was seemingly unscathed as he got up on his own power and drove in the next race, but he later booked off, according to a tweet by Mark McKelvie, Woodbine Mohawk Park’s Communications and Content Manager. Macdonald booked off his remaining drives and was taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Woodbine Mohawk Park resumes racing on Friday, Mar. 12 with 11 races, kicking off at 7:00 p.m. EST.
For full race results, click here.
by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink