Two undefeated freshman filly pacers went behind the Woodbine Mohawk Park gate Saturday night in their $140,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division: Chantilly (driver James MacDonald) and Pick Me Up Hanover (Dexter Dunn). With show wagering barred for the field of ten, 1-9 favourite Chantilly was the overwhelming choice to take OSS Gold Leg 4.
She did not disappoint.
Macapelo Seelster left strongly from the rail for driver Tyler Borth, with Millie May Hanover (Todd McCarthy) and Wickedpace (Jody Jamieson) in hot pursuit. Chantilly followed Wickedpace from second-over fourth into the first turn. She settled along the pylons as Wickedpace reached the quarter pole in :27. The lead was short-lived, as Millie May Hanover instantly made her move to the front.
Chantilly followed Millie May Hanover from second-over, taking control at the :56 half. Although Pick Me Up Hanover began a first-over bid from fifth, the favourite led by a length and a half over Millie May Hanover at three-quarters, reached in 1:23.3.
Announcer Ken Middleton had little to add during the stretch drive, other than that Chantilly “absolutely destroys this field.” Win streak intact, the daughter of Big Jim-Shiraz Seelster won going away by five and a half lengths, in a new lifetime best of 1:50.3. Wickedpace came on for place, ahead of Millie May Hanover.
In the winners’ circle, MacDonald said Chantilly was still “a little goofy going by the gates and stuff like that, just jogging around, so she gets mad right where everyone can see her,” referring to some head-shaking before her previous start.
He added that trainer Nick Gallucci had found “a little bit-sore on her, and he just worked on that, and she was much better.”
How much better could the OSS divisional leader and Eternal Camnation champion be?
“Who knows? She’s just so gifted,” said MacDonald, noting that he found some similarities between Chantilly (p, 2, 1:50.3; $257,500) and Prohibition Legal, another top two-year-old filly pacer of her generation, also owned by breeder Millar Farms of Stouffville, Ont., and trained by Gallucci.
“They’re a lot alike. The high-end speed and the beautiful gait,” said the winning driver. “They feel a lot alike to sit behind. Prohibition always did her little stuff at the wire. She’d let right up and you’d kind of have to watch her, but Chantilly’s usually doing her best work through the wire.”
Gold Leg 5 for the two-year-old pacing fillies is Oct. 3 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The divisional Gold Super Final is Oct. 12 at Mohawk. Chantilly is not eligible for the 2024 Breeders Crown.
FEATURED IMAGE: Chantilly winning an OSS Gold division for two-year-old pacing fillies at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Aug. 31, 2024 (Clive Cohen/New Image Media)
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