Three Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions were contested at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Aug. 7) evening as part of the third leg of the series for two-year-old trotting fillies.
Kinnder Hotblood swept the field from eighth to post an upset victory in the $22,600 division.
Matthew Bax and Kinnder Hotblood sat eighth, 12-1/2 lengths off of the leading Gaming Queen through the quarter in :28.2. Still sitting eighth at the half in :59.3, Kinnder Hotblood closed the distance between herself and the new leader Tea Lake to an 8-3/4-length gap. Abikadabra (Doug McNair) led the outer flow as they went into the three-quarters clocked in 1:29.2. Her efforts were followed by Cleveland Misska (Paul MacDonell) and Kinnder Hotblood, who moved into sixth from the outside. Bax and his trainee began chopping away at the distance between them and the chance for victory down the long stretch. With the pedal to the metal, Kinnder Hotblood achieved the feat with a three-quarter length victory in 1:59. Abikadabra took second and favoured Tea Lake was third.
Bax Stable, David Hudson, Gaelic Stable 2 and The Cavalier Stable co-own the Kadabra-Her Name Is Lola daughter as she won her first race in four starts. With the upset victory, Kinnder Hotblood paid $28.80 to win.
Two miles clocked in 1:57.2 by Rhythm Of Life in the $22,200 division and R Liza in the $22,600 division served as the leading mile times of the evening in the OSS Grassroots divisions.
Rhythm of Life (James MacDonald) got away fifth from post six in the field of eight, 9-3/4 lengths off of the leading Flirty Dancer (Tyler Jones) as she hit the quarter in :29.1. With Flirty Dancer as their commander, the top five remained unchanged as the half was timed in :59.4. Louis-Philippe Roy pulled his right line to move Sue Anne from the pocket and Rhythm Of Life followed suit. Flirty Dancer maintained her reign at the three-quarters in 1:29 while feeling the pressure of the outer charge to her right. Around the final turn, Rhythm Of Life crept up to take over the lead and then opened up on the field to win by three lengths in 1:57.2. Sue Anne took second and Flirty Dancer settled for third.
Shawn Steacy trains Rhythm Of Life (Muscle Mass-Royal Rhythm) for Landmark 16 Racing Stable, Glengate Farms, Carmen Chrysdale and Guy Haskell as she collected her first win in three starts, making her record 1-1-1.
In the final division, Jody Jamieson and R Liza had the rail in their field of nine freshman fillies. As the gate pulled away and the field entered the first turn, R Liza settled into third behind Birthday Money (Todd Ratchford) and a locked out Shetrotsalot (Trevor Henry). After the quarter in :29, Shetrotsalot cleared for the front, but only had the command for a brief split before West River Ivory (Paul MacDonell) assumed control. R Liza was pushed back to fourth as the timer read :59.2 at the half. Jamieson pulled his right line and soared to the lead with R Liza where she would fend off her challengers through the three-quarters in 1:28.3 and en route to a 1-1/4-length victory in 1:57.2. P L Rachel (Bob McClure) sped late in the stretch to take second while West River Ivory finished third.
Susie Kerwood trains R Liza for M And L of Delaware LLC and Alabama Harness Associate as she achieved her new career-best time. The daughter of Muscle Mass and the Yankee Glide mare Wishimaywishimight has $46,417 earned with a record of 2-1-0 in three starts.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.