Both favourites fell to defeat in Monday's pair of $25,000 Ontario Sired Autumn Series eliminations for three-year-old colt and gelding trotters at Woodbine Racetrack, while San Pail lit up the toteboard in the $50,000 Open Trot.
In the opening contest, Striking Rich took advantage of an early break in stride by Tenacious Kyle (Mario Baillargeon) to grab the early lead. Once on top, he was never seriously threatened and went on to a 2:00.4 tally for Trevor Ritchie over a hard-closing Pile Driver J T (Jason Brewer), with Mr Go (Tom Strauss) finishing in third.
It was the second win of the campaign for the gelded son of Striking Sahbra – Monteleone, who was coming off a third-place finish in the $300,000 OSS Super Final at Woodbine. The win boosted the Mike Guitard trainee's earnings to just over $87,000 for the Haryott Stables Inc. of Etobicoke, Ontario.
Southwind Rew pulled off a mild upset for driver Sylvain Filion in the second elimination by making the front early and posting a wire-to-wire victory in 1:58. Race favourite Joe Page (Rick Zerson) was a traffic-troubled second, with Brendan R Boy (Mario Baillargeon) picking up the show spot.
It was the second straight win at Woodbine for the son of Kadabra – Southwind Redbud, who is trained by Daniel Lagace for owner Brad Gray of Dundas, Ontario. The victory improved his record to four wins in 13 starts this year and just over $48,000 in earnings.
The $47,500 Ontario Sired Autumn Series Final will go postward next Monday night at Woodbine.
In the $50,000 Open Trot, San Pail pulled off a 44-1 shocker for driver Randy Waples. The four-year-old San Pellegrino gelding sat patiently in fifth to the half, which is when Waples moved San Pail first-over and he wore down leader Please Poppy (Mark MacDonald) in the lane to score by two and a half lengths in 1:55.4. Scorpion Moon (Jody Jamieson) was second, with Please Poppy hanging on for third.
Rodney Hughes trains and co-owns San Pail with partner Glenn Van Camp. It was the fifth win in 25 five attempts this season for the trotter, who pushed his yearly total to $139,120.
To view Woodbine’s results, click here.
(With files from WEG)