Rideau Carleton: Good Will Hanover, L A Delight collect Ontario Sires Stakes Gold

Ontario’s talented 3-year-old pacing fillies were the featured performers on the second half of Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Family Day double header Sunday, and the distaffers delivered impressive efforts two Gold Series divisions.

Good Will Hanover posted the fastest mile of the evening in the first C$105,000 Gold division, going gate-to-wire in 1:51 3/5. Lay Lady Lay pressed the pace through the middle stages of the race, but had to settle for second, 1 1/4 lengths behind the winner. Race favorite Mayhem Seelster was right behind Lay Lady Lay in third.

“This is the first time that, in the year or so that we’ve had her now, that she’s gone away from home, if you like, to a race at a different track other than Mohawk, or a local track, and so we were concerned about that,” said trainer Dr. Ian Moore about his cantankerous filly. “But she trucked down with Doyle Transport in a box stall, and she was pretty good, they were watching in the camera, and she’s been pretty good all day. She didn’t quite eat all her lunch, but not bad, so anyway we’re all very happy.”

Paul MacDonell piloted Good Will Hanover to her first Gold Series win of 2016 for Moore and owners GLB Stable. The win boosts the Big Jim daughter’s sophomore record to four wins and one second in 11 starts for earnings of C$203,469.

In addition to the long trip away from home, Moore also spent some time worrying about a change in Good Will Hanover’s routine that saw MacDonell handle all the filly’s on-track warm-ups Sunday.

“I was in Trois-Rivieres today with Rockin In Heaven in the Prix D’Ete, so I just made it here in time for the race, just got here about a minute to post,” said the trainer, who alerted the filly’s caretaker Vicki Paulic once he realized he would not make it to Ottawa in time. “Paul got along excellent with her and Vicki, she’s done a heck of a job with her.”

Dr. Moore also handed credit for the filly’s victory to owners GLB Stable, who remained stalwart while Good Will Hanover struggled to find the winner’s circle in July and August.

“The owners of Good Will Hanover have been great, Karl, Stephen and Deanna Tufts and Start Rath, the GLB Stable, they’ve been fantastic,” said Moore. “I was telling them all the options for trucking her down here, and they said, 'well, the best option is to truck her in a box stall with Doyle’s, and we’ll pay for the whole truck,' so you know, I like to see them rewarded for doing that. It makes me feel good that we, meaning the mare and all of us, can give back to them for all their support.”

Next up on Good Will Hanover’s schedule is the Simcoe, back at Mohawk Racetrack on Sept. 3, and she will wrap up her regular season Gold career at the Campbellville, Ontario, oval on Sept. 30. Sunday’s win should assure the filly of a berth in the season-ending Super Final on Oct. 15, where Moore hopes she can give reigning division champion L A Delight a run for her money.

“There’s only one of those (Gold) left and then hopefully the Super Final and, of course, L A Delight is going to be tough as nails. There’s no doubt about that, but you know if this mare acts well and everything goes good for her, maybe we’ll give her a run,” mused Moore. “I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.”

L A Delight extended her two-year Gold Series unbeaten streak to nine with a victory in the second C$105,000 division at Rideau Carleton on Sunday. The Bettor's Delight daughter and regular driver Randy Waples took control of the race before the half and were easy 1 1/2 length winners over Divas Image and Bourbon Seelster in 1:52.

Waples piloted the heavy favorite to her fifth sophomore victory for trainer Bob McIntosh and his partners Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. and C S X Stables. The win pushed L A Delight’s career earnings to within C$2,000 of the C$1 million mark.

--press release (Ontario Sires Stakes)--