Five For MacDonald; Three For Steacy

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The Monday evening program at Mohawk Racetrack belonged to driver Trevor Henry thanks to his five-win performance, but Tuesday night’s spotlight shone brightly on driver James MacDonald and trainer Mark Steacy.

The dynamic duo joined forces to win three races on the 10-race card, and MacDonald tacked another two trips to victory lane to bring his win total to five on what turned out to be a memorable – and mucky – night at the office.

MacDonald and Steacy got the ball rolling with Ticket To Seattle in Race 2. The trotter rallied for a 1:58 triumph over a track that was still listed as ‘fast’.

MacDonald then swept to a last-to-first decision with the Dave Daigneault-trained E L Wild Spirit in Race 3. Last at the half and ninth at the three-quarter pole, the gelding smoked home in :28.1 to score by half a length in what turned out to be a thrilling finish.

It was a front-stepping score with Majestic Kat in Race 5 that gave MacDonald the driving triple and Steacy the training double by the mid-way point of the card. The filly led the group through panels of :28, :58.2 and 1:28.1 over a track that was downgraded to ‘sloppy’. A :29.2 closing quarter earned the youngster the win in 1:57.3.

Harper Blue Chip, who hadn’t won a race since his OSS Super Final score on October 11, 2014, broke through for a 2:00.1 decision in Race 8. In doing so, he gave MacDonald the Grand Slam and Steacy the hat trick.

And in true Hollywood fashion, MacDonald captured the finale by three lengths with the classy trotter O Narutac Perfetto in 1:58.2. The Dean Nixon pupil overcame Post 10 to win easily as the public’s top choice.

MacDonald, who has racked up more than $4 million in purse earnings in each of the last three campaigns, recently surpassed $1 million in earnings this year. To date, he’s made 1,646 trips to victory lane while piling up more than $21 million in purse earnings.

Steacy has also compiled more than $21 million in purse earnings over the course of his career, and in the process he’s piled up 1,514 wins.

For the official judges' report from Tuesday's card, click the following link: Judges' Report - Mohawk - June 20.

To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.

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