MILTON, ON – AUG. 6, 2019 – Division point leader Fit Bitt kicked off the third Grassroots Leg for the two-year-old trotting colts at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Tuesday evening, battling to his second straight harness racing victory in the Ontario Sires Stakes program.
Driver Sylvain Filion of Milton, ON fired Fit Bitt away from Post 8 and the pair trotted by the opening quarter in :29.1. Through a :59.4 half and 1:30.1 three-quarters Fit Bitt was comfortably in charge, and when the challengers came in the stretch the Bob McIntosh trainee was ready to battle, reaching the wire a neck in front of Gretzky Seelster and Tymal Tarot in 2:00.4.
"He raced really good. He's a nice little colt, he's pretty quick too. He's just a nice horse," said McIntosh, who bred and owns Fit Bitt in partnership with C S X Stables of Liberty Center, OH. "He showed a lot of talent all winter really. He showed he had a lot of promise, so I'm glad it's worked out the way it has.
"I wouldn't say he's a superstar, but he's a pretty nice colt," added the Windsor, ON resident.
In three Grassroots starts the son of Muscle Mass and $462,826 winner Armbro Affair has tallied two wins and one second for 125 points and sole ownership of top spot in the division point standings. He will be looking to add to that tally when the freshman trotters make their fourth Grassroots start at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Sept. 3.
Mr Arch took the second $23,500 division with a front end effort that saw him take control just after the :29.4 half and ring up fractions of 1:01.1 and 1:32.1 on his way to a two length victory in 2:01. Lifeisgood Hanover finished second and Dart Guy was three more lengths back in third.
"He got it real easy," said driver Bob McClure, adding that the last eighth of a mile was where the Archangel son showed off his true ability. "Once he got going in the stretch he stopped watching the birds and focussed on his work."
Rockwood, ON resident McClure drove Mr Arch to his first lifetime win for trainer Richard "Nifty" Norman and owners Kempii Stables OY Inc. and Suojalampi Stable Inc. of Delray Beach, FL. The partners acquired the colt from last fall's Harrisburg Yearling Sale for $27,000.
The quickest mile of the five Grassroots divisions was clocked by Lovedbythemasses, who stalked fan favourite Awsomedabra through the first three-quarters of the mile and then shifted into another gear around the final turn and drew away to a four and one-quarter length win in 1:57.3. Awsomedabra settled for second and Magic Wizard completed the top three.
Mike Saftic of Campbellville, ON piloted Lovedbythemasses to his second straight Grassroots win for trainer Edward Peconi of Peterborough, ON and his partners Wade Peconi of Stanchel, PEI and Nicholas Peconi of Lakefield, ON. The Muscle Mass son is two-for-two in his young career and currently sits second in the standings with 100 points.
In the fourth division Royaltys Odyssey made his Grassroots debut a winning one with a bold three-wide move at the three-quarter pole. Starting from Post 8 driver Jody Jamieson eased the Royalty For Life gelding off the gate and was sitting sixth in the outer lane when favourite Kenogami Coco reached the quarter in :28.2.
Still sixth at the :59.3 half, Jamieson sent the youngster out wide heading by the 1:30.1 three-quarters and Royaltys Odyssey powered off the final turn to a three-quarter length victory in 1:59.3. After providing a wind break for Royaltys Odyssey, Youboozeyoulose stayed game for second and Kenogami Coco settled for third.
Jamieson drives the gelding for his father Carl Jamieson of Puslinch and breeder Joanne Morrison of Beeton, ON. The rural Milton resident said the gelding has recovered well from minor surgery last winter and will be looking to add to his point total in the last two regular season events.
"He needed every day until today to be able to put it all together," said Jamieson. "He may have a big chance at Grassroots glory."
The top 20 point earners through the five regular season events will compete in the Grassroots Semi-Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Sept. 27, with the top five finishers from each Semi-Final advancing to the Oct. 5 Grassroots Championship.
The last division went to Magic Bob, who started his provincial career with a pair of off the board finishes at the Gold Series level. The change in competition suited the Kadabra son and driver Trevor Henry of Arthur, ON, who controlled the tempo for much of the race on the way to a 1:58.3 win. I Got The Looks finished two and one-quarter lengths back in second and Massman was third.
Magic Bob's win was the second of the night for New Jersey-based trainer Richard "Nifty" Norman, who conditions the gelding for breeders Melvin Hartman of Ottawa and Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, FL and their partners David McDuffee of Delray Beach, FL and Little E LLC of New York, NY.
Magic Bob's former Gold Series peers will gather at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday, Aug. 8 for the third event of their season. The first race gets under way at 7:10 pm and the trotting colts will compete in Races 2 and 6.
Complete results for Tuesday's program are available at https://standardbredcanada.ca/racing/results/data/r0806wbsbsn.dat.
From the Ontario Sire Stakes