Woodbine Mohawk Park: Awesome Hill completes Niagara Series sweep
On a Boxing Day matinee card where driver James MacDonald could do very little wrong, it was Awesome Hill and her pilot Doug McNair who also grabbed the spotlight, capturing the lion's share of the Niagara Pacing Series final for 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Heading into the C$33,600 final, the Chantal Mitchell trainee went off as the 3-5 favourite, earning the bettors' respect after winning the opening two legs. So, there was little surprise after Foxy Fiji and Travis Cullen carved out a reasonable opening fraction of 27 3/5 that McNair wasted little time tugging on the right line of Awesome Hill to begin a first-up move. The duo cleared to the front just before the half, reached in 56 2/5, and the pair never looked back, marching through three-quarters in 1:24 3/5 before crossing the finish line in a lifetime-best 1:53 1/5.
Owned by Tom Hill of Hamilton, Ontario, the sophomore filly has now earned a bankroll of C$75,614 in 13 career starts.
Bottomoftheninth (A. Sorrie/M. Lamoureux) and State Of Mind (T. Henry/D. Lindsey) finished second and third, respectively.
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The special race card opened with Sylvain Filion guiding Cutting Class to victory, but from there on, it was the James MacDonald show, as he captured the next five consecutive races.
He would pose for the winner's photo with Priceless Beach (S. Steacy), Kendall Seelster (R. Boyd), A Boy Named Suuzz (B. Lester), Woodmere Stealdeal (C. Auciello), and Century Hannibal (J. Ritchie).
MacDonald would go on to earn his sixth win on the day, steering Real Willey (R. Moreau) to a commanding victory in the finale.
McNair also had a notable day, earning his first trip to the winner's circle with Wheels On Fire (R. Moreau) in the $34,000 Preferred pace.
Utilizing a similar strategy to his Niagara final race, the pair sat off the pace third in the opening fraction of 27 3/5 before moving first-up and driving away through fractions of 56 2/5 and 1:24 3/5 before posting a final fraction of 27 3/5 to stop the timer in 1:52.
The 6-year-old gelding has now won three of his last four starts in the top class for owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ontario.
--press release (Woodbine Mohawk Park)--