Woodbine Mohawk Park: OSS records felled by D A Johnny Cash, Verily

Gelding D A Johnny Cash and filly Verily each broke an Ontario Sires Stakes record in Gold Series competition for 2-year-old trotters on Friday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

D A Johnny Cash set his 1:52 3/5 record while winning the lone C$150,000 Leg 5 event for colts and geldings.

It was the first Gold victory of the year for the gelded son of Green Manalishi S out of Mabel Kipp. It was also a career-best. The mark bettered the previous OSS record of 1:53 set earlier in the year by division leader Unstable Genius, a three-time Gold champ who did not race in Friday's fifth and final leg.

Sent off as the 2-5 favorite in the field of seven, D A Johnny Cash, driven by Doug McNair, sat fourth as Three Six Zero (Jody Jamieson) led the group to the 27 4/5 quarter. McNair had his charge out and on top just before the 56 1/5 half. D A Johnny Cash cruised from there, defeating Detonater Hanover (Tyler Moore) by 1 1/2 lengths. Three Six Zero was third, followed by Kountry Cantab (Trevor Henry) and Manking (James MacDonald).

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The win came a week after D A Johnny Cash finished third in his previous start on Sept. 26 in the C$1 million Mohawk Million.

"I just thought as long as [D A Johnny Cash] stays to his business and trots, I didn't think they could beat him," McNair told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. "He's a real fast horse. He's got all kinds of trot. He's a once-in-a-lifetime horse."

D A Johnny Cash paid $2.80 to win.

Bred by Scott McEneny and Domenic Chiaravalle, D A Johnny Cash was purchased by his trainer, Chris Matthews, along with Todd Williams and Jeff Bryan for C$50,000 at the 2025 London Classic Yearling Sale.

The trotter is now 3-1-1 in eight starts and has earnings of C$250,500.

"Before we qualified, he started showing signs he had some ability, and when I qualified him, I thought, 'You know, he might make some noise this summer,'” said Matthews. "I didn't expect to be in the Mohawk Million, but I thought he'd be all right.

"I'm blessed. Hopefully, we'll just go for a ride and hang on as long as we can with him."

The win allowed D A Johnny Cash to jump into fourth-place in the Gold divisional standings. The top 10 horses are eligible to compete in the C$350,000 Super Final on Oct. 10 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The final top 10 in the 2-year-old trotting colt division is:

1. Unstable Genius - 150
2. Detonater Hanover - 108
3. Three Six Zero - 85
4. D A Johnny Cash - 78
5. Kountry Cantab - 48
6. Grand Manalishi - 29
7. Tuff Gong - 16
8. Spiritual Guidance - 7
9. Arm N Hammer - 3
10. Great White North - 3

Verily, Major Contender score in 2YO Filly Trot splits

Verily smashed the record for her division, previously shared by four fillies, with a 1:53 score in the first of two C$100,000 Leg 5 events.

Fellow division leader Major Contender won the second Gold test in 1:54 1/5.

In the first division (race two), 2-5 favorite Verily (Louis-Philippe Roy) converted a perfect pocket trip into a three-quartrers of a length victory over Northernlights Glo (Daryl Thiessen).

Northernlights Glo, the 4-1 second choice, led the field of seven through fractions of 27 4/5, 56 and 1:24 1/5, but was out-dueled by Verily in the stretch, who set a career-best and shattered the previous OSS mark of 1:53 4/5 shared by Bee A Magician (2012), Lil Sweet (2024), Bingo Night (2025) and Rebel Moon (2026).

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Jyn Erso (Doug McNair) was third, followed by Rebel Moon (James MacDonald) and Treasure King (Jody Jamieson).

Verily paid $2.90 to win.

It was the third Gold victory of the year for Verily, a daughter of Muscle Mass out of Yen owned by Bill Donovan, bred by Overseas Farms Ltd. of Cambridge, ON, and trained by Meg Crone.

Verily, purchased for C$85,000 at the 2025 London Classic Yearling Sale, is now 3-2-1 in seven career starts and has earnings of C$256,575.

"She's just very well-mannered," Crone told Woodbine broadcaster Randy Waples. "Nothing stresses her. When she was in the retention barn, she was great. She ate, she drank well and she was never bothered a bit. She's always been really smart, too."

In the second division (race eight), 1-5 favorite Major Contender posted her third Gold victory of the year, holding off Queen Of Bs (Chris Christoforou) by a neck.

It was also the third straight victory for the daughter of King Of The North out of Major Muscle owned by her trainer, Carl Jamieson, her driver, Jody Jamieson, David Lemon and George Harrison.

Simea (Trevor Henry) led the field through fractions of 28, 57 2/5 and 1:25 3/5, with Major Contender in the pocket the entire way. Major Contender took command at the top of the stretch. Shortly thereafter, Simea made a break, leaving Major Contender and Queen of Bs to battle the rest of the way.

R Rosie (McNair) was third, followed by Dreamtrade (Bob McClure) and Flawless Lady (MacDonald).

"They trotted 1:54 tonight, which I think was a huge effort," Jody told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. "They had three weeks between starts. You know, a week off, a little respite there in the middle...it's tough to keep them sharp all year long with the weather changes and stuff like that.

"This filly's just been a really good doer the whole time, and I think we got the right division to go in [tonight]. The other one went 1:53 with Verily. She was a monster, and then Northernlights Glo was awesome again, too. It's a hell of a division...These fillies are tough."

Major Contender paid $2.60 to win.

Major Contender, bred by Princeton Farms, Mark Etsell, Robert Newton and Chuan Tan, was purchased for $110,000 at the 2025 Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling auction in Harrisburg, PA. She is now 4-2-0 in nine career starts and has earnings of C$255,033.

The top 10 in the 2-year-old trotting filly division are:

1. Major Contender - 176
2. Verily - 176
3. Rebel Moon - 125
4. Queen Of Bs - 125
5. Treasure King - 70
6. Northernlights Glo - 69
7. Flawless Lady - 67
8. Song From Heaven - 47
9. R Rosie - 48
10. Simea - 45

--press releases (Ontario Racing)--