Just three weeks after finishing fourth in the Dream Of Glory Final, Yo Yo Mass returned to Hanover Raceway and scored an effortless Grassroots victory to open the stakes action on Balanced Image Night.
Starting from Post 2, with Hanover Raceway’s leading reinsman Bruce Richardson in the race bike, Yo Yo Mass went straight to the front and led the field of three-year-old trotting colts and geldings to a :29.4 opening quarter. The fan favourites continued to set the tempo through a 1:01.1 half and 1:31.3 three-quarters before cruising home to a 2:01.3 victory. Pocket-sitter Santini finished one and one-half lengths back in second and Vesuvio Bi was well behind the leaders in third.
“I was hoping to get away either first or second, and he left good enough to make the front and controlled the race from there,” said Richardson. “He was very handy, well in hand.”
Richardson engineered the win for trainer Kyle Reibeling of Campbellville and breeder Nancy Grimble of Newcastle, ON, who share ownership of the gelding. It was the Muscle Mass son’s second win in Grassroots action this season, and his fourth overall, boosting his sophomore earnings to $51,993. With one regular season Grassroots event remaining on the calendar, Yo Yo Mass sits second in the division standings with 133 points.
“He’s not a very big horse, but a very handy little horse,” noted Richardson. “He seems to be very versatile, seems to be very handy, and has a good attitude to him.”
The second $18,800 Grassroots division saw Charmbo Chrome take advantage of miscues made by four of his peers, including favourite Short Term Memory, to earn his first Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) victory. Starting from Post 5, with veteran reinsman Ross Battin of Monkton, ON in the race bike, Charmbo Chrome coasted along on the front end to a six and one-half length win in 1:59.3. Enchanted Mission and Amanforallseasons finished second and third, making it a sweep for sire Manofmanymissions.
Kitchener resident John Rier conditions Charmbo Chrome and shares ownership with Randy Rier of Hanover, ON. The brothers also bred the gelding, who is the third foal from their former race mare Hetties Charm, a Grassroots winner during her career.
The third division also saw a first-time OSS winner as Majestic Marvel took a front-end trip around the Hanover half-mile in a sharp 1:58.4. Radical Road and Euro Gap finished well behind the leader in second and third.
Ryan Holliday of Mount Forest piloted the Majestic Son gelding from Post 6 to the winner’s circle for his father, trainer David Holliday, his wife Caroline Holliday, both of Mount Forest, and breeder Ron Corbett of St. Jacobs, ON. The win was the gelding’s fifth in 13 career starts, boosting his earnings to 42,840, and was his second straight after an almost two month-long stretch marred by breaks and required qualifiers.
“He gets beat when he beats himself, but he’s definitely capable. I hope we got him set up properly now,” said Ryan Holliday. “He did make me scratch my head a little while there, wasted a bit of time in the summer, but he’s a fast horse, it’s just if he minds his manners.”
Majestic Marvel and his peers will have one final opportunity to pad their Grassroots point total in the last regular season event at Mohawk Racetrack on Sept. 7. The top 10 point earners from the six regular season events will earn a berth in the $50,000 Grassroots Championship at Mohawk on Sept. 30.
The evening came to a thrilling conclusion in the Balanced Image Final as Keith Jones piloted Henderson Seelster to a 2:01.1 victory, pursued down the stretch by his second entry Joey Bats who finished one and one-half lengths behind his stablemate. Leaderofthepack was third for driver Ryan Holliday and owners David and Ben Holliday of Mount Forest, ON.
It was the second lifetime win for Henderson Seelster, a son of Holliday Road and a full-brother to $655,638 winner Hemi Seelster, who captured the 2015 Dream Of Glory Trot Final. Barrie resident Jones conditions both Henderson Seelster and Joey Bats for Douglas McCarthy of Holland Landing, ON.
Jones and McCarthy were presented with the Balanced Image Trot trophy by former Glengate Farms farm manager Doug Nash, who handled stallion Balanced Image throughout his breeding career. Before the race Nash paid tribute to the late stallion and to Hanover Raceway and its fans.
“When I was a young man and in my teens and first started racing, I raced here at Hanover,” Nash reflected. “It’s always been an exceptional place to race. The people appreciate the horses, I think they appreciate the horsemen and the drivers, and Hanover Raceway is probably one of the nicest tracks you could come to in this whole province.”
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