Newcomers shake up Grassroots divisions

MILTON, AUG. 12, 2021 – A trio of fresh faces appeared in the Grassroots winner’s circle at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday, Aug. 12 as three-year-old trotting fillies P L Opportunity, Midnight Miracle and Great Dane all captured their first Ontario Sires Stakes wins of the harness racing season.

Kadabra filly P L Opportunity and driver Trevor Henry won the first $22,150 division with a charge down the stretch that saw them reel in four rivals and stop the teletimer in a personal best 1:54.3. I Da Princess finished two and one-quarter lengths behind the winner in second and Lifeintheslammer stayed game for third.

“I told Trevor, I said, ‘God himself, if he was driving, he wouldn’t know how to get out around that last turn’,” said owner/trainer Matt Dupuis of Rockwood, ON. “It really worked out good.”

Starting from Post 8, P L Opportunity left well and was sitting third when favourite Tipsy In Dixie reached the :27.4 quarter. P L Opportunity then found herself shuffled back to sixth when Fox Valley Liza took over before the :57.2 half and Lifeintheslammer led the charge up the outer lane to a 1:25.3 three-quarters. Fortunately, Henry was able to find a seam as the fillies powered out of the final turn and P L Opportunity sprinted home for her second straight win in just her sixth lifetime start.

P L OPPORTUNITY REPLAY

“I just took it really easy with her and never asked her too much and she’s just getting better and better all the time,” said Dupuis, who did not race her and P L Indyanaca last season. “Her mother was really, really fast, but she was really, really crazy so we’ve been really careful with her. I drove her myself at the start, made sure she didn’t leave and everything, and now I’ve given her to Trevor. He really likes her, says she’s easy to drive, not hot or anything.”

The second $22,150 division saw Midnight Miracle and driver Bob McClure leave sharply from Post 6 and settle in behind Pixies Lady through a :27 quarter and :57 half. Heading by the 1:25.4 three-quarters McClure put the fan favourite on the front and Midnight Miracle was on cruise control for the remainder of the mile, sailing under the wire five lengths the best in a personal best 1:55.1. Mensa finished second and Classy Carol was third.

“She was just fringe playing in the Golds, so I said, ‘Well, we might as well drop down and see what happens’. We got fortunate tonight, two of the better ones were scratched so that helped a lot,” said trainer Mark Etsell of the absence of previous Grassroots winners Fuzzy Angel from Post 2 and Edgewater from Post 7. “She just hasn’t been as good this year as she was last year, so to get her turned around would be nice.”

MIDNIGHT MIRACLE REPLAY

Rockwood resident Etsell, Robert Newton of Walkerton and Chuan Tan of Cambridge, ON bred and own Midnight Miracle, who was a Gold Series winner at two, but had finished fourth and seventh in her first two starts at that level this season. The filly scored her first win of the sophomore campaign at Georgian Downs on Aug. 8 and Etsell hopes the back-to-back victories restore the Muscle Mass daughter’s confidence heading into the last two Ontario Sires Stakes legs.

Great Dane captured the last $21,800 division with a gate-to-wire effort from Post 4 that saw her ring up fractions of :27.1, :56.3 and 1:26 before digging in down the stretch to keep a neck in front of Hope So in a personal best 1:54.4. Tealicious rounded out the top three.

“She’s really good like that, we put a set of blinds with holes in them and when she can hear horses coming she is competitive enough that she’ll keep trying, keep trying, she’ll do all she can,” said trainer Shawn Steacy. “Not the way I mapped the trip out to go, but that’s why I was in the barn and James (MacDonald) was on the bike.”

GREAT DANE REPLAY

Great Dane’s two-year-old campaign was cut short by injury so her connections, owners Mark Steacy of Lansdowne, Natasha Rivest of Brantford, Landmark 13 Racing Stable of Lansdowne and owner/breeder Glengate Farms of Erin, were delighted to see the filly reach the winner’s circle for the second straight week. The Muscle Mass daughter was also victorious on Aug. 5 in her third sophomore start.

“I always really liked this horse. I thought she was going to be a hell of a good two-year-old last year, but it just didn’t pan out,” said Steacy. “I think she can possibly transition to the Golds here soon, I always believed she could be that kind of a filly.”

The three-year-old trotting fillies will return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Aug. 30 for their fourth Grassroots Leg, while the Gold Series fillies head to Grand River Raceway on Aug. 25.

Ontario Sires Stakes excitement continues at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday, Aug. 13 with five $22,150 Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old pacing fillies. The fillies will be featured in Races 2, 3, 6, 8, and 10.

For full race results, click here.

From the Ontario Sires Stakes