Sermon puts things right

Sermon (Muscle Hill) bounced back after a break in his Canadian harness racing debut with a victory in the first division of the second leg of the New Holland Trotting Series on Monday (Mar. 13) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Racing into a blizzard, Bob McClure found Sermon a seat in fourth. Ritson (Scott Young) did the lifting up front with :27.1 and :56.2 fractions in the opening half, after which Sermon launched into play first-over.

Ritson rose to the challenge and held his lead by a half-length at three-quarters in 1:26.2, but Sermon overwhelmed the pacesetter midway down the stretch. McClure kept the gelding to task as several horses closed from behind, but Sermon was well-equipped to find the line and did so up by a length-and-a-half in 1:53.2.

Itstimetogohome (Doug McNair), a winner in leg one, rallied for second. Hp Mama B (Louis-Philippe Roy) was just behind in third.

SERMON REPLAY

Sermon, a six-year-old, has won 10 of his 42 starts and was a Grand Circuit contender in the past two seasons. He had been racing at the Meadowlands and shipped to Woodbine Mohawk Park for the New Holland series and broke stride in the opening round. Per Engblom trains the gelding for Longbridge Trotting of Delray Beach and Consus Racing Stable of Vero Beach.

Locatelli (Muscle Hill) captured the second division with a brush from fourth. He took over in the third quarter, extended his gap turning for home, and cruised to victory in 1:54.3. Franks Angel (McClure) surged home to take second. Swan Trixie (Trevor Henry) was third.

LOCATELLI REPLAY

Locatelli was been a strong Free For All contender last season and continued to compete in a  few starts south of the border. The five-year-old finished third in the first leg. He has won 12 times and has earned $375,276 in 60 appearances. Harry Poulton trains the gelding for The Stable’s Locatelli Group of Guelph and Hutchison Harness of North Ridgeville.

The $60,000A final of the New Holland Trotting Series is set for Saturday, Mar. 25 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The next leg of the pacing side of the series will go forward on Saturday, Mar. 18 before a final on the same day.

The track will continue racing on Thursday, Mar. 16 at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink