Big moment for All Bets Off gelding in $300,000 Super Final

The moment was here for Moment Is Here (All Bets Off) in the $300,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (Oct. 16).

He fired through from the inside post for Tim Tetrick, overcoming the usual rail disadvantage at Mohawk Park. The gelding competed the first quarter in :27 before ceding control to Stockade Seelster (Jody Jamieson) on the backstretch.

Moment Is Here sat the pocket to the half in :55.2 and was bottled up behind the leader at three-quarters in 1:23.1. Tetrick showed Moment Is Here daylight at the top of the stretch, and the gelding powered past Stockade Seelster. Macs Delight (Andy McCarthy) and Write Me A Rose (Sylvain Filion) chased him home, but Moment Is Here was clear in deep-stretch and won the Super Final in 1:50.2.

Write Me A Rose got up for second with Stockade Seelster hanging on for third.

“I got right where I wanted to be off the rail and I only had to go 27 to get that spot,” Tetrick said post-race. “And when Jody came my horse settled really good and tracked him really well, and when it was time to go we pulled and the horse did the rest, I didn’t fall off.”

MOMENT IS HERE REPLAY

Moment Is Here has raced at the Grand Circuit level several times this season with starts in the North America Cup and Little Brown Jug finals. The sophomore was winless in the preliminary rounds of the Gold Series but finished a narrow second in three of the legs. Trained by Robert McIntosh, he is seven-for-30 lifetime and has raked in $686,721 in earnings. Robert McIntosh Stables of Windsor owns the gelding in combination with Al McIntosh Holdings of Leamington, Frank Baldachino of Harvey Cedars, Mardon Stables.

After the win, Marv Chantler revealed the horse will be put up for auction on onGait.

“Well, I kind of liked what I saw El Ray sell for yesterday, $500,000 and he’s raced against El Ray,” he said. “I mean I’ve been racing for 56 years and I’m not stupid, I don’t expect we’re going to get a half a million dollars but he’s worth something to somebody.”

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink