Woodbine Mohawk Park: Ontario Sire Stakes gets in gear Thursday

Thursday's Ontario Sires Stakes season opener at Woodbine Mohawk Park will be a festive affair for the Baillargeon family as they send out hopefuls in both the 3-year-old trotting colt and trotting filly Gold Series events.

First up for team Baillargeon is HP Mama B, who will start from Post 6 in the first $102,200 3-year-old trotting filly Gold division and the first race on the Canada Day program. The winner of last fall's Grassroots Championship as a 2-year-old, HP Mama B is off to a strong start in her sophomore campaign, finishing third in her June 12 debut and scoring a 1:54 3/5 victory on June 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

"Last year as a 2-year-old, well she was very big and she had a few quirks at the beginning, but she finished the year pretty good and she had a real good winter. And this year she has no trotting hopples and she looks very strong," said trainer Ben Baillargeon of Guelph, ON. "I think she's Gold material. She's a lot more mature this year than she was last year, and she's big and strong, so why not? I don't say she's going to win, but I think she deserves to be there."

Baillargeon bred HP Mama B, who is a daughter of stallion Royalty For Life and mare Winters Jewel, and the filly is co-owned by his wife Guylaine Picard in partnership with Celine Paquin of Ayers Cliff, QC. At two HP Mama B put $76,087 in her delighted owner's pockets and she has added $12,400 through her two sophomore starts.

"I think she'll make her money and she might be a surprise," said Baillargeon. "She only has two starts so far and I think she'll get a little bit better too. Right now she is pretty good, but I think she'll get a little bit better."

As she has been throughout her career, HP Mama B will be driven by Sylvain Filion on Thursday and the pair will face eight rivals in the first race, all of them veterans of the Ontario Sires Stakes program.

Filion had also piloted Dealin With Dewey in his first two sophomore starts, but the Milton, ON resident opted to drive reigning Super Final champion Fashion Frenzie from Post 5 in the first $100,600 trotting colt Gold division, so Mario Baillargeon of Acton, ON will step into the race bike behind his brother's second OSS starter. The pair will start from Post 3 in the field of seven, which goes postward in Race 3.

Another homebred, out of stallion Wheeling N Dealin and Baillargeon's good race mare Rockin With Dewey, Dealin With Dewey made just one start as a two-year-old before being turned out to grow and mature. This year the gelding has recorded wins in both of his starts, the most recent a 1:55 effort on June 22 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

"He gets it from his mom, she won in 1:52 for me and made close to $600,000. She was a good mare," said Baillargeon. "He's got speed, so we'll give him a try. I don't know if he'll win any Gold or what he'll do, but he's got speed. Last week he was a little stretched at 1:55, last quarter in 28 1/5, but he beat a good horse at the wire and he doesn't have much experience yet, so I was very pleased with the way he raced.

"If I get a little bit of money I'll be happy. If I get more money I'll be happier," added Baillargeon with a chuckle.

Sharing Dealin With Dewey's winnings, which currently amount to $16,000, is Sara Baillargeon, who works as a trainer alongside her father to keep their 40-horse stable in top shape. Father and daughter share ownership of the gelding, who is the first of three foals out of Rockin With Dewey.

"There's more coming out of that mare. There's one in training right now, I've been in 2:05 with him; she has a filly by her side by my horse Musical Rhythm, and she's gorgeous; and she's in foal," said Baillargeon. "You know, with these broodmares, some of them (offspring) have to make some money to keep the ball rolling."

The other $102,200 3-year-old trotting filly Gold division goes postward as Race 7, featuring reigning Super Final champion Dashing Muscle at Post 7, and the second $100,600 trotting colt split will wrap up the Ontario Sires Stakes action in Race 10. Two-year-old Grassroots champion Four Wheelin makes the leap up to the Gold Series from Post 3 in the second trotting colt split, starting alongside last year's leading money earner, Macho Martini, who gets Post 4.

Post time for Thursday's program is 7 pm and for the first time in 2021 Woodbine Mohawk Park will welcome a limited number of fans for the live racing program. Reservations are required and complete details can be found at https://woodbine.com/mohawk/guest-registration/.

-edited release (Ontario Sire Stakes)