Jamieson & Darling score two Grassroots wins

AUGUST 31, 2015 – For the second straight week harness racing driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Jack Darling teamed up to win a pair of two-year-old pacing colt Grassroots divisions with St Lads Moonwalk and Continual Hanover.

The duo first achieved the freshman pacing colt Grassroots double at Georgian Downs on August 23 and they reprised the effort at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening.

"I wasn't really following their schedule, and noticed when the sheet came out that they were back in and I was pleasantly surprised, I'll say that," said Moffat, ON resident Jamieson, who has been increasingly impressed with both colts in recent weeks.

Darling and Jamieson's first attempt at the repeat came in the third Grassroots division with St Lads Moonwalk, who started from Post 3 and sat mid-pack through the bulk of the race, watching Sutton Seelster and Derecho put up fractions of :27.1, :56.2 and 1:25.3. Once they hit the stretch Jamieson asked the Mach Three son for another gear and St Lads Moonwalk sprinted by his peers to a one and one-quarter length victory in 1:53.3. Fan favourite Derecho settled for second and Print Media paced into third.

"I was very, very impressed with St Lads Moonwalk's victory tonight," said Jamieson. "He got a good enough trip to get lucky to slide out, and the straight run up in the stretch, but he did have to make up about four or five lengths to get the win and did it very, very easily. So he was very impressive tonight."

Cambridge, ON resident Darling owns and trains St Lads Moonwalk, who jumped to the top of the division standings with the win, his third straight in Grassroots action. Along with his three victories, the colt has a third and a seventh-place Grassroots result for a total of 164 points.

St Lads Moonwalk

Continual Hanover went looking for his second win from Post 3 in the last division. The Bettor's Delight son and Jamieson got away fifth and allowed Baddestnbestest to pace by the quarter in :27 and the half in :55.1 before mounting a challenge on the way to the 1:23.3 three-quarters. Fan favourite Continual Hanover had taken command before the colts entered the stretch and pulled away to a one and one-half length victory in 1:52.2.Only Half Bad and Big Yellow closed well to be second and third.

"Continual Hanover, he just does as much as you ask him to do or as little as you ask him to do, and he's a fun horse to drive," said Jamieson. "I think he paced his own last quarter in :28.3 or :28.4, but I'm sure that if I needed any more out of him he would have gone more for me. He makes it fun to drive."

A half-brother to Darling's 2014 Ontario Sires Stakes two-year-old pacing filly division champion Code One Hanover, Continual Hanover now has two wins, two seconds and one seventh on his resume in five Grassroots appearances, putting him right behind his stablemate in the division standings with 152 points.

Continual Hanover

Darling also sent out Notetoself Hanover, who finished fourth in the first division, King Of Sports, who was second in the second split, and Vegas Dream, who finished eighth in the fourth division.

Bingo Ingo kicked off the Grassroots festivities by capturing his first Grassroots trophy in the first $18,000 division. Driver James MacDonald crafted a come-from-behind trip for the Camluck son that saw them use Southwind Mayhem as a windbreak in the outer lane before sprinting down the stretch to a two and three-quarter length win in a personal best 1:53.1. Macharoni N Cheese and Southwind Mayhem captured the second and third spots.

Guelph, ON resident MacDonald pilots Bingo Ingo for trainer Tony O'Sullivan of Cambridge, ON and Stephen Sexton of Xenia, OH. After two starts at the Gold Series level, O'Sullivan moved Bingo Ingo down to the Grassroots program and he now has one win, one third and one sixth to his credit for a total of 65 points.

Bingo Ingo

Mach Three gelding Secrecy claimed his second straight Grassroots trophy in the second division, swinging out from behind the first over King Of Sports to hit the wire one-half length on top in 1:53.4. Darling trainee King Of Sports stayed game for second and Tommys Trooper came on for third.

The mile was a personal best for Secrecy, who earned his first Grassroots trophy in the Aug. 13 event at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Coupled with one fourth and one fifth-place result, the gelding has accumulated 113 points in the race toward a post season berth. Milton, ON resident Sylvain Filion engineered both of Secrecy's wins for trainer Eric Adams and owner Millar Farms of Newmarket, ON.

Secrecy

The fourth division saw Inspiration View make his debut at the Grassroots level after starting his Ontario Sires Stakes career with the Gold Series colts, where he finished fourth in the Aug. 13 event at Rideau Carleton Raceway. Starting from Post 6, Inspiration View and driver Randy Waples took command heading for the halfway marker and never looked back, sailing home two and three-quarter length winners in 1:52.2. Daylight Rush and Gerries Sport completed the top three.

Milton, ON resident Waples engineered the win for trainer Mark Harder of Freehold, NJ and his partners Rick Phillips of Tappan, NY and Peter Venturini of Rockaway, NJ. Through six starts the Shadow Play son now has four wins and earnings of $41,816.

Inspiration View

The two-year-old pacing colts have one more opportunity to pad their point totals, on Sept. 7 at Grand River Raceway. The top 20 point earners advance to the Sept. 17 Grassroots Semi-finals at Mohawk, with the top five finishers from each Semi-final earning a berth in the $50,000 Grassroots Championship at the Campbellville oval on Sept. 26.

The two-year-old pacing fillies will be on the hunt for Grassroots points at Mohawk Racetrack on Tuesday evening, battling in Races 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11. The first race rolls in behind the starting gate at 7:25 pm.

Ontario Horse Racing