Woodbine Mohawk Park: Grace Hill shines in Milton Stakes

Grace Hill, who took the Roses Are Red final in June at Woodbine Mohawk Park, wound up capturing both of that oval's Grand Circuit events for pacing mares this year after winning Saturday night's C$220,000 Milton Stakes final.

Driven by Doug McNair, Grace Hill settled in third from post six while Silver Label (Scott Zeron) hustled to the engine from post four and led through opening-half panels of 25 4/5 and 54 1/5. McNair then put Grace Hill on the attack first-over on the final turn, sailed up to Silver Label in just a few strides, and had the top spot on the outside at the 1:21 3/5 three-quarters.

In the stretch Grace Hill put Silver Label away for good and was also able to fend off Prohibition Legal (Louis-Philippe Roy), who tried to get by from second-over, to score by two lengths in a stakes record clocking of 1:48 flat. Boudoir Hanover (Todd McCarthy) was third at 65-1 after a pocket trip from post nine. Mikala (George Brennan) and Silver Label completed the top five.

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"She's a fun mare to drive. She's just like driving a sports car," said McNair. "I figured if I didn't put mine on the front and didn't get a big hurry with her, she can sprint as fast as any. We were first-up against a great mare on the front, and there was a real nice one on my back. It wasn't an ideal spot, but she made it look pretty easy."

A 5-year-old Always B Miki mare, Grace Hill is trained by Virgil Morgan Jr. for owner Tom Hill. This was her 27th career win, she has now earned C$1,731,906 and she paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favorite.