Bond best in second Elegantimage elim; field set

Bond (Southwind Frank) took the race into her hands and secured the victory in the second $40,000 Elegantimage elimination on Saturday (Sep. 16) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Driver Ake Svanstedt accepted the pocket behind the persistent Rose Run Yolanda (Yannick Gingras) to the quarter in :28. Bond wouldn’t allow the leader a soft second panel, though, and circled her to take control prior to the midway point in :57.1.

Call Me Goo (Sylvain Filion) made her move from third as the leader neared the third station in 1:25.1, but Bond kicked away from her and Rose Run Yolanda as they entered the stretch. Call Me Goo fizzled out as they entered the final 1/16th of a mile, leaving only Rose Run Yolanda to mount a challenege. Rose Run Yolanda closed in as they approached the line, but Bond held on by a neck under urging in 1:52.1.

Rose Run Yolanda finished second over Call Me Goo. Tactical Mounds (Scott Zeron) got up for fourth over Lindys Irishcream (Dexter Dunn).

BOND REPLAY

Bond, trained by Svanstedt, is aiming for her second major stakes victory in a row after she won the Delmonica Hanover on Aug. 19. The filly also finished second by a neck in the Hambletonian Oaks and is 12-for-17 lifetime with $925,625 in earnings. Svanstedt co-owns her with Little E of New York and L Berg Inc. of Delray Beach.

Righteous Resolve (Resolve) went coast-to-coast in the first elimination.

On top and unpressured through splits of :27.1 and :57, Righteous Resolve finally came under attack when Baroness Hill (Doug McNair) sprung from the pocket approaching three-quarters in 1:25.3.

Righteous Resolve shrugged off the attack and stormed down the lane. Quick Stop (Tim Tetrick) charged late from the backfield, but she was too late to catch Righteous Resolve, who won by a length-and-a-quarter in 1:53.1.

Quick Stop got up for second, and Baroness Hill held third. Pure Hope (Ake Svanstedt) closed late for fourth, and Mass Hysteria (Trevor Henry) was fifth.

RIGHTEOUS RESOLVE REPLAY

The victory ended a six-race losing streak for the 2022 Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final winner. The filly won her seasonal debut on Jul. 6 and, apart from a win from which she was disqualified to second, has been winless since. The Matt Bax trainee has not missed the board yet this year though, and she missed her career-best by a fifth of a second in Saturday’s win. She is 10-for-18 lifetime and has amassed a bankroll of $851,088.

The draw for the $381,000 final was conducted following the eliminations. The posts are as follows:

1 – Lindys Irishcream
​2 – Baroness Hill
​3 – Rose Run Yolanda
​4 – Mass Hysteria
​5 – Bond
​6 – Righteous Resolve
​7 – Pure Hope S
​8 – Tactical Mounds
​9 – Call Me Goo
​10 – Quick Stop
​AE – Tactical Planner

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink