Woodbine Mohawk Park: OSS Gold Series showdown won by Hasty Bid

A rich C$159,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series tilt for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters was in the spotlight on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and Hasty Bid got the win in 1:52 3/5 after a thrilling stretch duel.

Driven by James MacDonald, Hasty Bid sped out from post six and had the lead at the 27 2/5 opening quarter, but he was under attack from a two-wide Tuscan Prince (Louis-Philippe Roy) at that marker and yielded to sit in the pocket behind him beyond that point. Tuscan Prince continued on the engine through a half of 56 1/5 and then opened up a gap on the way to the 1:24 1/5 three-quarters as Hasty Bid gapped in the pocket and Ghostly Casper (Sylvain Filion) made up ground on the final bend in the first-over position after having to go three-wide from near the back of the pack in the backstretch.

Through the drive Hasty Bid hit a better gear and Ghostly Casper continued to press forward to join Tuscan Prince and make it a three-horse duel to the wire. Tuscan Prince faded inside the final eighth and left it to Hasty Bid and Ghostly Casper, though, and at the finish line, Hasty Bid had a head in front of Ghostly Casper to get the victory. Tuscan Prince wound up back in third.

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"He's been such a special horse for us. I don't even know what to say. I'm so happy I just could go give him a big hug," remarked MacDonald. "My horse, he's so versatile. He's shown he's maybe not the best on the front, but he's got that gate speed if you want it. I figured in a race like that, it looked like either Casper or Tuscan would cover us up. When Louis kept pushing it was best case scenario. I know his horse drifts out down the lane, so I thought I was going to get a chance to race any way.

"He struggled a little bit in the last turn, and he hasn't gotten his nose up, but it's not from lack of trying, it's just a great division of horses. Osceola, Casper and Tuscan, they're amazing animals and they're all going to take on the world soon. We're really proud of him, and like I said, I can't say enough about him."

Trainer Paige Austin also co-owns Hasty Bid, a My MVP gelding bred by Dr. Jeff Ruch, with 1000063663 Ontario Inc. Hasty Bid made his third appearance in the winner's circle, pushed his earnings to C$324,983 and paid $7.10 to win as the 5-2 third choice.