(Photo of driver James MacDonald and True Muscle courtesy of New Image Media)
James MacDonald had scorched through four races before he took his foot off the accelerator at Mohawk Racetrack on Tuesday evening.
Among the four races the Guelph resident won were two Grassroots divisions for the three-year-old trotting fillies. MacDonald took the first division with True Muscle, who had swung out to challenge leader I Want Kandy when that filly went off stride. True Muscle carried on to a one-half length lead over Miami Magic and Tymal Diamond in 1:57.4.
“She raced super,” said MacDonald. “She got halfway down the lane and I thought she was going to get beat, and she fought them off, so it was a gutsy win for her.”
MacDonald piloted True Muscle to her second Grassroots win for trainer Keith Jones of Barrie and owner Randy Zhok of Dover Centre, ON. With two wins, one second and one seventh-place result in four Grassroots starts, the Muscle Mass daughter currently sits atop the division standings with 127 points.
MacDonald picked up his second Grassroots trophy in the next race, sending heavy favourite Anneli Hanover to the front heading for the half and cruising home to a one-length win in 1:56. Pocket-sitter Silky Flashy Nfast finished second and Scotties Spirit closed well to be third.
“She’s just red hot right now,” said MacDonald of Anneli Hanover, who has not been bested since July 1. “She seems to be versatile, and she’s coming into the late part of the Sires Stakes in good form, so hopefully she can get a bunch in the Semi-final and the Final.”
MacDonald has driven the filly to the three most recent wins in her four-race win streak for trainer Mark Steacy and Katherine Steacy of Lansdowne, Landmark 8 Racing Stable of Kingston, David McDonald of Cornwall and Barry White of Ottawa, ON. In 11 sophomore starts the daughter of Majestic Son boasts a record of six wins and one second for earnings of $39,500. With two wins and two sixth-place results in Grassroots action, Anneli Hanover sits fifth in the standings with 103 points.
MacDonald book-ended his Grassroots wins with victories in overnight action aboard former Ontario Sires Stakes trotter Justasmalltowngirl and pacing colt Pudong Phil. He almost made it five in a row with The Muscle Touch in the third Grassroots division, getting caught at the wire by fan favourite P L Jill and driver Mike Saftic.
“It was a dream start to the card,” said the reinsman. “I’ve never won five there before, and I came close in the fifth race. I made front halfway down the lane and Saftic beat me right at the wire. It was a really super night. Sometimes you’re in a zone where you can’t do anything wrong and other times you’re in a zone where it doesn’t matter how good you’re driving, you just can’t seem to do anything right.
“It’s a really streaky game, people don’t realise how streaky drivers can get,” he added. “You’re doing good, it just doesn’t seem to matter what you do they go forward, and when you’re doing bad you can be two to five, second over in the hot fractions and finish last. It’s a weird game.”
While it was not on the same card, between Monday and Tuesday MacDonald did win five straight races at the Mohawk oval. The reinsman piloted three-year-old trotting colt Manofmanyimages to a Grassroots win in the last race on Monday’s card before adding the first four races on Tuesday’s program.
Tuesday’s victories will also bump MacDonald into third spot in the Ontario Sires Stakes’ Lampman Cup point race. The driver is still well behind three-time winner Sylvain Filion, but admitted that he has considered taking a run at the reigning champion.
“The last couple years I’ve kind of been around the hunt, but not really close enough to think about going for the Lampman Cup win. I looked the other day and saw I was not too far out of it,” noted MacDonald. “If I can maybe close the gap on Sylvain, then I might think about taking a run at it.”
MacDonald will have an opportunity to further boost his Lampman Cup point tally on Wednesday evening when he heads to Grand River Raceway to steer one three-year-old trotting colt and a pair of two-year-old trotting fillies in Gold Series action.
The other Grassroots trophies awarded at Mohawk on Tuesday went to P L Jill and Profound Patience.
P L Jill and driver Mike Saftic of Campbellville powered up the outside to reel in MacDonald and The Muscle Touch in the final strides, hitting the wire one-half length on top in a personal best 1:55.4. Magical Valentine was just three-quarters of a length back in third.
Matthew Dupuis conditions P L Jill for owner-breeder Prince Lee Acres of Uxbridge, ON and their partners Jill Coleman of New York, NY and Alan Christensen of Calgary, AB. The win was the Kadabra daughter’s second this season and her first in Grassroots action.
In the final division driver Trevor Henry of Arthur, ON put Profound Patience on the front heading by the three-quarters and the fan favourite sailed home to a one and one-quarter length victory in a personal best 1:57.2. Stonebridge Peace and Roadmapper finished second and third.
Trained by Rebecca Titus for owner-breeder Steven Titus of Hamburg, NY, Profound Patience was also making her first appearance in the Grassroots winner’s circle. The Majestic Son daughter doubled her win tally to two and her earnings to $18,380 with the victory.
The three-year-old trotting fillies make their fifth Grassroots start at Georgian Downs on August 28.
Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Mohawk Racetrack on Thursday evening with the third Gold Leg for the two-year-old pacing colts and the third Grassroots Leg for the two-year-old pacing fillies. The pacing fillies will kick things off at 7:30 pm in the first race and will also compete in Races 4, 5 and 8. The pacing colts will battle in Races 3 and 9.
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