OTTAWA, JUNE 23, 2024 – Rideau Carleton Raceway rolled out the red carpet for Ontario’s top three-year-old pacing colts and fillies Sunday as the Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary tour rolled into the nation’s capital for a pair of $140,000 Gold Series races.
The sophomore pacing colts kicked off the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) action in the sixth race and leading driver James MacDonald wasted no time putting Trophy Taker on the lead. The pair led the field of nine through fractions of :27.2 and :55.0 before fan favourite Storm Shadow and driver Bob McClure edged into the outer lane from third and started to march forward. Trophy Taker retained control through the 1:22.4 three-quarters but Storm Shadow was threatening, and the Bettors Delight colt sailed by in the stretch, holding off a late charge by Wikipedia (McWicked) to score a nose win in 1:51.4. Unrivaled Hanover (Bettors Delight) rounded out the top three, two and one-quarter lengths behind the leaders.
“He’s gotten very handy off the gate, but we were beat into the turn pretty handily by James (MacDonald) and Doug (McNair, driving Legal Attack),” said McClure, who lined up behind the starting gate at Post 3, to the right of the colts that outsprinted Storm Shadow in the early going. “He doesn’t get tired though, there’s no end to him, and he can carry his speed really far.”
McClure engineered the win for trainer Dr. Ian Moore of Cambridge, Ont., and owners R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, N.B., Serge Savard of St-Bruno, Que., Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont., and Bolton Farms LLC of Clermont, Fla. Although Sunday’s win was Storm Shadow’s first of the three-year-old campaign, McClure, who calls Rockwood, Ont., home, does not expect it will be the last.
“I don’t think he plays second fiddle to any horse in the division. He was just hitting his stride at the end of last year, winning the Super Final, his Breeders Crown elimination and coming third in the (Breeders Crown) Final. Like most of Doc’s, he just got stronger as things went along,” said McClure of the colt, who was bred by Tara Hills Stud Ltd. of Port Perry, Ont. “He never throws a bad race, he loves his job, and he’s a real fun horse to drive.”
The next Gold Series start for the three-year-old pacing colts comes in the Mid-Season event, which will see the top 10 point earners through the first two Legs competing in a $150,000 Final, while the next 10 point earners battle in a $40,000 Consolation. The Mid-Season event goes postward July 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park and should see the return of North America Cup champion Nijinsky to OSS action.
Two races later, three-year-old pacing filly Odds On Platinum fired off the gate from Post 5 and took the field of eight Gold contestants to a :26.2 opening quarter, then allowed reinsman Stephane Brosseau to dial back the tempo on the way to a :55.2 half. The fan favourites handed control over to McClure and Greatest Pleasure before the 1:22.3 three-quarters and then popped back out for a sprint down the stretch that saw them hit the wire in a personal best 1:50.3. Greatest Pleasure (Bettors Delight) finished three lengths back in second and Lightning Lizzie (Betterthancheddar) completed the triactor.
“When Bob arrived fast, I couldn’t hold him, but that was a good thing because she braved up. And he came so fast that nobody was following, so it gave her a break to just grab the bit,” said L’Assomption, Que., resident and Rideau Carleton regular Brosseau, who was recruited for the drive by the filly’s usual reinsman Sylvain Filion. “When I got in the last turn I thought, ‘Oh, I will finish second,’ but when I came off the last turn, I thought, ‘I am going to win.’”
Like Storm Shadow, Odds On Platinum is trained by Dr. Moore, and like her stablemate, Sunday marked her first appearance in the winner’s circle this season. The Bettors Delight daughter was a two-time winner last season, in a two-year-old campaign that saw her bank $370,207 for owners Odds On Racing and Let It Ride Stables Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. Hanover Shoe Farms bred Odds On Platinum, who will be headed to the three-year-old pacing filly Mid-Season Final on July 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
In addition to two outstanding Gold Series races, Rideau Carleton Raceway fans were also treated to 50th Anniversary celebrations, including hat and t-shirt giveaways, historical displays, a commemorative cake and an opportunity to meet and have an autograph signed by OSS drivers. The Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary tour makes its next stop at Dresden Raceway on Canada Day, Monday, July 1.
Complete results from Sunday’s program are available here and replays can be viewed on Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Youtube channel.
FEATURED IMAGE: Rideau Carleton Raceway regular Stephane Brosseau drove three-year-old pacing filly Odds On Platinum to a personal best 1:50.3 victory in $140,000 Gold Series action on Sunday, June 23, part of the Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary celebration (Bente Nielson photo)
IN-LINE PHOTO 1: Storm Shadow winning the three-year-old pacing colt race by a nose, seen just behind Wikipedia at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday, June 23 (Bente Nielson photo)
IN-LINE PHOTO 2: Drivers James MacDonald (right) and Tyler Borth (left) sign autographs at Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary celebration on June 23, 2024 (Ontario Racing photo)
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