MILTON, Ont., Sept. 28, 2024 – Love Those Legs had a nightmare trip, but still managed to get a dream result in the $75,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Final for Three-Year-Old Trotting Fillies, Saturday night at Mohawk.
After enduring traffic trouble into the first turn and a less-than-ideal journey along the backstretch, it would have been understandable if Love Those Legs and driver Louis-Philippe Roy threw in the towel.
Instead, they found a way to get the job done against the odds and with plenty of determination.
Mass Cara (Muscle Mass) marched to the front early with Flirty Dancer (Lookslikeachpndale), Her Currency (The Bank) and Mass Money (Muscle Mass) sitting second, third and fourth, respectively. Love Those Legs, from Post 8, got tangled up in a traffic near the back of the pack, a scenario that forced Roy to make a split-second decision as to his next move.
After Mass Cara took the field through an opening quarter in :27.3, Roy decided to set his sights on the lead and did so, going from ninth to first a few strides before the half in :58.2. Mass Cara was second, Flirty Dancer third and mutuel choice Valentine Bluechip (Muscle Mass), who also had a rough early go, sat fourth.
Love Those Legs had a leg-up on Valentine Bluechip after three-quarters in 1:27.1, but with a quarter mile to go, needed to find another gear to hold on.
After Valentine Bluechip, who came into the final on a two-race win streak, began to drift out, Love Those Legs remained resolute and held off Flirty Dancer by 1-3/4 lengths for the game victory. Valentine Bluechip was third and Mass Cara finished fourth.
The final time was 1:55.3.
Roy lauded the grit and gumption of the Luc Blais trainee.
“My filly, she is not a fan of the front. She is a little better chasing. That was what I was trying first. I’m pretty sure that Dougie’s [driver, McNair] filly is the same, so he was trying to trip her too. Going into the first turn, I was in trouble, but I knew he was in trouble, too.
“Luc had her impressively good tonight. I know she has been showing better and better every week, but I wasn’t expecting that huge of an effort.”
An effort that had Roy beaming.
“She just kind of got on the bit better and better. She felt really good when she opened up a little bit in the stretch. I didn’t pull the plugs – she felt really strong still at the wire. It was just impressive how she raced tonight.”
After going winless in seven starts in 2023, the daughter of Kadabra-Legzy, owned by Determination, is 4-3-0 from 14 starts this year, and 4-4-1 from 21 lifetime engagements.
Saturday night’s win, the biggest of her career, pushed her career earnings into six-figure territory.
She paid $17.30 for the signature score.
Bred by Windsong Stable, Love Those Legs was a $110,000 purchase (Hip No. 78) at the 2022 Harrisburg Yearling Sale.
FEATURED PHOTO: Love Those Legs capturing the $75,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Final for Three-Year-Old Trotting Fillies on Sept. 28, 2024 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (Clive Cohen/New Image Media)
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