May 24, 2024
By Ontario Sires Stakes Communications
MILTON, May 24, 2024 – The Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary Celebration continues Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park with the 2024 Gold Series getting underway for the three-year-old pacing and trotting colts and pacing fillies with $520,000 up for grabs.
The evening of Gold events will kick off with sophomore trotting colts with $95,000 on the line in Race 2. Immediately afterwards, the three-year-old pacing fillies will race for $140,000 in Race 3.
That race will see the return of PASS LINE (ALL BETS OFF) to the OSS Gold stage. The Burke Racing Stable (Fredericktown, Pa.)-, Weaver Bruscemi (Canonsburg, Pa.)-, Frank Baldachino (Harvey Cedars, N.J.),- Rich Lombardo Racing (Solon, Ohio)-owned and Burke Racing Stable-, Weaver Bruscemi-bred filly dominated her two-year-old year, finishing atop the leaderboard and capturing the two-year-old pacing filly Super Final last October.
Trained again by David Menary, PASS LINE will have a familiar driver in the sulky behind her in Louis-Philippe Roy, who was at the lines for her runner-up effort in the May 11 SBOA Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Alongside PASS LINE in Race 3 will be another Menary-trained filly, ITS A LOVE THING (BETTORS DELIGHT), who is owned by Eric Good (Davidsonville, Md.), Thomas Biederman (Lexington), Joshua Green (Midway, Ky.) and Rich Lombardo Racing (Solon, Ohio), and bred by Marvin and Lynn Katz (Toronto) and Al Libfeld (Pickering, Ont.). ITS A LOVE THING will be driven by James MacDonald.
“They’re both very fancy,” said Menary of PASS LINE and ITS A LOVE THING. “ITS A LOVE THING is more like the fanciest [Cadillac] Escalade you can get. She’s going to get you where you need to be in style. Whereas PASS LINE is like the fanciest Tesla you can get. Her speed is like ‘Right Now!’”
For Menary, seeing PASS LINE and ITS A LOVE THING battle against each other in the same division will prove to be difficult as he believes them both to be excellent horses.
“They’re both very, very special,” Menary said. “I’m sure they’re gonna take turns [winning races]. I think they’re both special and it’s hard to say which one’s better than the other.”
In addition to the two talented fillies, Menary also has a colt in a Gold race Saturday in TROPHY TAKER (ALL BETS OFF), who will be competing in Race 7, a $95,000 Gold Series race for three-year-old pacing colts.
Owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi, Frank Baldachino and Lawrence Karr (Randolph, N.J.), and bred by Lynne Bowen (London, Ont.), TROPHY TAKER looks ready for the challenge.
“I like the look of the horse, I really like the way that he trained up,” said Menary. “But this is the deepest waters he’s seen in his life. Hopefully he’s up for it.”
MacDonald will be on the bike behind TROPHY TAKER Saturday night. And as part of the evening’s festivities, the veteran driver will be presented with his 2023 Lampman Cup, the third straight time he’s won the top driver award.
Trainer Shawn Steacy will also receive his 2023 Johnston Cup Saturday as last season’s top OSS trainer. This is the second time Steacy will win the award, putting him just one back of his father, Mark, for total Johnston Cups earned.
As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration, fans coming down to enjoy the races will also be able to view photos and memorabilia from seasons past along with giveaways, activity books for the young ones and a timeline illustrating the 50-year history of the OSS.
“Being from Ontario, the Sires Stakes has been so good to me my whole career,” said Menary. “We’re just so lucky that it’s a good program and it’s so close to home.”
Ahead of Saturday’s Sires Stakes celebration, Canadian harness racing writer and historian Robert Smith wrote about the history of the OSS at Woodbine Mohawk Park that you can read here.
Post time for the first race Saturday at Mohawk goes at 7:10 p.m. Click here for a copy of the program with information on entries and wagering advice. If you are unable to attend in person, please visit the Woodbine Mohawk Park website for streaming information. You will be able to make a wager via HPIBet.
Feature Image: PASS LINE dominated the OSS Gold two-year-old pacing filly division last year. (Photo credit: Clive Cohen/New Image Media)
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