Saulsbrook Ian was a repeat winner in the Valedictory Series while first round runner-up Come On Artie stepped up for a victory in the second leg on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The series is for three-year-olds male pacers that were non-winners of $60,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31.
Fresh off a career-best 1:52.1 score in the opening leg of the series last weekend, Saulsbrook Ian (pictured above) just missed that mark as he went right back out to take his $18,000 division in round two with Doug McNair picking up the live catch-drive.
With a handful of leavers jockeying for early position through a :26.2 opener, McNair floated Saulsbrook Ian off the gate and landed towards the back in fifth. After a :55.3 half, Saulsbrook Ian followed the cover of Call Me It (Louis-Philippe Roy) through three-quarters in 1:25.1 then rallied by that late leader down the lane to win by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:52.3. Gritty (Colin Kelly) edged out Call Me It for the runner-up honours at the end in a photo finish.
Improving to three-for-three this month while racing at Mohawk in the Kyle Fellows stable, Saulsbrook Ian paid $2.50 to win as the 1-5 favourite. Owned by Red Oak Stables of Charlottetown, P.E.I., the Betterthancheddar-Atlanta Girl gelding now boasts a dozen wins from 17 starts this year after winning two of 10 as a rookie.
Leaving from the outside post seven in the other division and caught four-wide to the first turn, driver Louis-Philippe Roy pressed on with Come On Artie, catching cover briefly and eventually clearing down the backside after a contested :26.3 opening quarter. Once in control, the popular Brett Lester trainee never looked back, setting middle splits of :56.3 and 1:25.4 through the fog en route to a two-length victory in 1:53 flat. Mufferaw Joe (Sylvain Filion) was in the early mix and re-emerged for second while Wry (McNair) followed up his series win last week with a third-place finish.
A runner-up to Saulsbrook Ian in their first round match-up, Come On Artie was sent off as the 4-5 favourite drawing into a separate division for this leg and returned $3.60 to win. After going one-for-five as a freshman, the Artspeak-Machs Affair gelding has compiled a record reading 11-4-8 from 33 starts this year for owner/breeder Diane Sylvestre of Sarnia, Ont.
The $30,000 (added) final of the Valedictory Series will be contested on the special Boxing Day afternoon program on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
After the Valedictory Series action, four-time Saturday winner McNair guided popular pacer Taurasi to victory in the $36,000 Preferred.
Last week's winner Livinthebeachlife (Roy) got the jump on Taurasi as those two fired off the gate into a :26 opening quarter, but the 4-5 favourite didn't sit long in the pocket as McNair sent him to the top down the backstretch. Taking over the lead, Taurasi hit the half in :54.3 then three-quarters in 1:22.4 and held two lengths clear with a :26.2 finale frame for the 1:49.1 triumph. Livinthebeachlife followed in second and Emmetts Buddy (Tyler Borth) closed off cover to complete the top three.
Making his second start from the Richard Moreau stable and coming off a close third-place finish in the Preferred on Dec. 9, Grand Circuit stakes competitor Taurasi was the bettors' choice and returned $3.10 to win. The four-year-old Racing Hill-Voluminous gelding has now won 11 of his 30 career starts and boasts $383,321 in purse earnings. He is owned by Brad Grant of Milton, Ont. and the New Jersey-based Alagna Racing LLC.
Taurasi's victory capped off a training triple on the 11-race card for Moreau.
A Mares Preferred winner two starts ago, the Moreau-trained Huntress ($5.10) took a new lifetime mark of 1:50.3 besting two-time O'Brien Award-winning distaffer So Much More while facing mixed company in a $28,000 high-end conditioned class. Sylvain Filion worked out the winning trip for the four-year-old Huntsville mare.
Moreau combined with McNair for another win, with the eight-year-old Auckland Reactor N gelding Reactor Now A ($5) matching his 1:50.2 lifetime mark.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The chalk ruled at Mohawk last night!
8 of the 11 races conducted at Mohawk last night were won by the post time favorites.