Woodbine Mohawk Park: Chantilly, Wickedpace deliver in OSS Gold Series

Chantilly became harness racing's fastest 2-year-old so far in 2024 with a 1:50 4/5 tally in the second of two C$95,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series splits for pacing fillies on Tuesday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Wickedpace took the other flight.

Driven by James MacDonald, Chantilly watched from fifth as first Perfectly Chic (Bob McClure) and then Wicked N Single (Jonathan Drury) cut opening-half fractions 27 4/5 and 56 4/5. MacDonald put Chantilly into motion first-over early on the final bend, and although Wicked N Single still had command at the 1:24 3/5 three-quarters, Chantilly kept coming to move by her past that marker.

Through the stretch Chantilly continued to pour it on and hit the wire 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Perfectly Chic to eclipse Papi Grad and Railroad Station's mark of 1:51 1/5. Wicked N Single ended up third.

"You never really know until they do it. She had given all the signs she was a nice horse, but sometimes they get to 1:53, and that's kind of it. She didn't feel like that kind of horse," said MacDonald. "Nick (trainer Nick Gallucci), he does a great job, and she was just on her toes tonight. She was just waiting for me to call on her the whole way. She's just a powerhouse, and hopefully she just keeps trucking into the big stakes like this.

"I just wanted to try, if I could, to get a helmet. If not, I knew I'd probably be a slow first-up and then just kind of let her do her thing late. She was just all racehorse. As soon as she realized she was going to have to do the work on her own, she wanted to go a million. She's two fingers until she wants to go, and then she's rammy wanting to go 1,000. It's a good quality to have. Most of them, they let up on you when they've got to go fast, but she's tugging more the faster she goes."

Bred by owner Millar Farms, Chantilly has won both of her starts and earned C$57,500. The daughter of Big Jim paid $3.00 to win as the 1-2 favorite.

"She's eligible for the Battle of the Belles. We'll make that call in the next week or so, see how she came out of this race," offered Gallucci. "It'd be on a five-eighths. I think you're going to see a lot more horses go to that race. That's the plan. She showed a lot of ability, maybe we're better to wait and see how she comes out of it, maybe plan for the bigger events like the She's A Great Lady and other higher-end races here on this track. We'll just have to see how she seems."

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Back in the opening division, Wickedpace (Jody Jamieson carved out the quarter in 27 4/5 and then yielded to sit in the pocket behind favorite Millie May Hanover (Sylvain Filion) prior to the 56 1/5 half. Millie May Hanover continued to show the way around the last turn and to three-quarters in 1:25 2/5, but Jamieson swung Wickedpace to the outside in the lane. Once she was shown racetrack, Wickedpace rallied by Millie May Hanover and on to the win by a length in 1:53 2/5. Millie May Hanover held second from Darlenes Angel (Trevor Henry).

"It couldn't have worked out any better. She left a little and got covered up," remarked winning trainer/co-owner Paul Cameron. "She got covered up by the right horse, and when she got called on, she had some pace.

"The elimination (for the Battle of the Belles) is 13 days from now. She trains on a five-eighths mile track and she gets over it very good. I think we'll go over there if everything's good."

Jayne Cameron and Arnolds Horse Shack also own Wickedpace, a filly by McWicked. The Winbak Farm-bred, who sold for $12,000 at the 2023 Standardbred Horse Sale, has a summary of 3-1-0 from four outings, has pocketed C$107,000 and returned $5.20 to win as the second choice.