Hasty Bid lowers mark in tight $159,000 OSS Gold victory

Hasty Bid (My Mvp) set a new lifetime best time and took his first win of 2023 in the sole $159,000 harness racing contest of the second Ontario Sires Stakes Gold second leg for sophomore trotting males.

The gelding took over just before finishing the :27.2 first quarter for James MacDonald before Tuscan Prince (Louis-Philippe Roy) completed his sweep to the front. The latter paced middle splits of :56.1 and 1:24.1.

Tuscan Prince led by open lengths turning for home with the first-up Ghostly Casper and Hasty Bid in hot pursuit. The pair reeled in the leader coming down the stretch and rolled around him entering the final eighth of a mile. They battled to the wire, separated laterally by several meters, and Hasty Bid stuck his head in front at the finish to score in 1:52.3.

Tuscan Prince was a clear third. The winner returned $7.10.

HASTY BID REPLAY

Hasty Bid had finished second in four of his six starts on the season and fourth in his most recent effort. Paige Austin trains the gelding, who is now three-for-14 lifetime with $324,983 in earnings. She co-owns him with 1000063663 Ontario Inc.

The third leg of the series is set for Aug. 14 at Grand River Raceway.

Later on the card, Poseidon Seelster (Sunshine Beach) captured the $32,000 Preferred. In a stacked field, the gelding chased down favourite Momas Son Bryne (Jonathan Drury) from the pocket and held off the charging So Much More (MacDonald) to score in 1:49.4. So Much More was short by three-quarters-of-a-length. Codename Cigar Box (Travis Cullen) was right with her in third.

POSEIDON SEELSTER REPLAY

It was Poseidon Seelster’s first win of the year in five starts. He hit the board in two Free For ALls in his prior two outings. The Donald Lindsey-trained gelding has won 13 of his 70 career starts and has earned $491,020. Lindsey co-owns the six-year-old with Paul Kleinpaste of Orangeville, William Alempijevic of Brooklyn, and Garth Bechtel of Meaford.

Woodbine Mohawk Park’s next card is set for Monday, Jul. 10, featuring the first two-year-old Ontario Sires Stakes action of the year. Two divisions of freshman pacing males will go forward in races four and six.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink