Marie-Claude Auger and Anita Ouellette claimed victory in the pair of races for all female drivers as part of the International Women’s Day celebration at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday night (March 9).
Auger launched off a pocket trip in the first division to score with Richard Moreau trainee Always N The Money in 1:56.
Four For Orr (driven by Natasha Day) dashed to the lead from the pylon post with Always N The Money securing the pocket while a four-wide charge stacked around the first turn. Chocolate Crackers (Kayla Chappell) abandoned a leave attempt through a :27.1 first quarter while R Bazingga (Pam Forgie) pressed forward three-wide into the backside.
Despite the action in the backfield, Four For Orr paced unfazed through a :57.1 half and three-quarters in 1:27.1. But in the lane, Four For Orr grew leg weary while Always N The Money sprung from second and dug into the pacesetter through the final eighth. Always N The Money surged to the lead in the final strides and extended to a three-quarter lengths win in 1:56. Matts Tuition (Julie Walker) rallied from last for third and Larry Is Debs Rock (Jessica Turenne) took fourth.
“I was good in the [pocket], but he did the job,” said Auger, who made her first start back in the sulky on Thursday night after recovering from an injury a few months ago.
Auger guided Always N The Money, a 13-year-old gelding by Always A Virgin, to his 50th career milestone win from 346 starts while he added to his bankroll now worth $441,947. Mark Jakubik owns the gelding, who paid $13.70 to win.
Anita Ouellette orchestrated a miracle comeback for Lifeguard in the second division, recouping double-digit lengths after a sloppy start to bag an 11-1 upset in 1:56.2.
Coolsunshine (Debi O’Brien Moran) shot to an uncontested lead after probable pace factor Always Been Crazy (Maggie Jones) broke at the start and also pushed Lifeguard and Rye N Clyne (Marielle Enberg) off balance. All of them recovered to the first turn and entered chase mode as Coolsunshine continued on a speed mission through a :56 half and 1:25.4 three-quarters.
Opening an open-length lead off the turn, Coolsunshine started shortening in stride in the lane as Diamond Rock (Natasha Day) gave futile chase inside of a levelled-off Bluemoon Bayama (Jessica Turenne). All the while Ouellette swung Lifeguard off the pylons to the centre of the track and devoured ground in the final eighth to sweep by Coolsunshine and snag a three-quarter length win. Bluemoon Bayama held third while Rye N Clyne closed for fourth.
“It was a little anxious in the beginning. I had to navigate around that; set me back a little bit,” Ouellette said after the race. “I caught up by the quarter pole and I just let him feel good. Once I got around the pack, I thought, ‘Oooh, I could be second. That would be great.’ I hollered at the horse real good and I guess the horse responded.”
Anita Ouellette, the wife of renowned Canadian horseman Luc Ouellette, had only driven in four pari-mutuel races previously since 2019. Thursday’s victory was her first in the sulky.
“When I looked at the race, I did ask Luc cause I want to know what he says,” said Anita. “He said these are just decent horses, not top-notch horses. He said, ‘Look, you’re only going to have one move.’ He was very instrumental in telling me how he looks at the race. That’s kind of what I had in mind, but you never know behind the gate how things pan out. But I did plan on racing him from behind even without that interference in the beginning.”
Lifeguard returned $24.80 to win and bagged his fourth victory in 39 tries while pushing his account to $25,993. Jonathan Panos trains the four-year-old Sunshine Beach gelding for owner Martin Kuepfer.
The two International Women’s Day races featured 11 women driving in $12,000 races with many of Canada’s leading ladies representing.
To view Thursday’s harness racing results, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.