Woodbine Mohawk Park: Ramona Hill blows away foes in Simcoe Stakes

Ramona Hill, making her first appearance at Woodbine Mohawk Park since winning the Breeders Crown 2-Year-Old Filly Trot there last fall, romped to an easy 1:53 2/5 win in the second of two Simcoe Stakes splits for sophomore trotting fillies on Friday night. Warrawee Vicky won the other flight for the ladies, while Jula Trix Treasure scored in the single Simcoe showdown for the 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters.

Driven by Andrew McCarthy in the C$88,894 race, Ramona Hill brushed from third to first heading to the 57 second half, got away from the field to the 1:25 1/5 three-quarters and into the lane, and was totally wrapped-up to the wire, prevailing by 5 3/4 lengths. Susies Lady (Scott Coulter) finished in the second spot, with Trina (Robert Shepherd) back in third.

"She felt very strong. It worked out where I got to sit her in there for a second and then moved her back to the front," stated McCarthy. "She did that as easy as she liked. She was very strong finishing.

"She got taller and her gait got longer (from last year to this year). She's just an incredible filly, and I'm in a very fortunate spot to be able to sit behind a filly like that. She got all the tools to go whereever she needs to."

McCarthy is slated to be in Canada for a bit to drive in some of the big stakes up there and was asked about what went into the decision to head up there given the current border situation.

"Last week, really, or maybe the week before we got to talking, and Tony said that he wanted to send her up here, so we started making arragements and working on it," McCarthy said. "It worked out to be able to come up here and get to do this."

Tony Alagna trains Ramona Hill, a daughter of Muscle Hill, for owners Brad Grant, Crawford Farms Racing, Robert LeBlanc, and In The Gym Partners. Ramona Hill has won 11 times from 13 career tries, has now pocketed C$1,277,066, and paid $2.10 to win as the 1-9 favorite.

In the other C$88,895 Simcoe Stakes tilt for 3-year-old trotting fillies, Whose Blues (Bob McClure) shot through from the pole position to take the group through stations of 26 4/5, 57 1/5, and 1:26, but Warrawee Vicky (Doug McNair) tipped out from the pocket in the stretch and caught the tempo-setter late, winning by a head in 1:54. She Rocks Kemp (Trevor Henry) sat third through the mile and rallied for second, with Whose Blues fading to third.

"I was thinking second there for halfway down the lane, and then I was maybe thinking about fourth, but she stuck her neck out and her nose out and won the race for us," said McNair. "She raced great."

Warrawee Vicky is a Royalty For Life filly trained by Scott McEneny for owner Brad Grant. Warrawee Vicky now has a record of 8-2-0 from 16 efforts, and she has earned C$322,648. She returned $16.70 to win as a 7-1 shot.

The boys competed in one C$167,511 Simcoe, and Threefiftytwo (McClure) had the top spot at the 27 3/5 opening quarter, but he yielded to Capricornus (Doug McNair) past that point. Capricornus went on to the half in 56 seconds, but then was joined before the 1:25 2/5 three-quarters by a first-over Jula Trix Treasure (Yannick Gingras) and overtaken beyond that marker. Jula Trix Treasure got a gap on his rivals after taking over, and although Threefiftytwo rallied after getting shuffled back behind the fading Capricornus, it wasn't enough as Jula Trix Treasure hit the wire half a length to the good in 1:53 4/5. Horse Trader (Henry) closed for third.

"He was really good tonight," remarked Gingras. "He was really awake and alert in the post parade, and I think that's when he's best. Maybe he's a little bit lazy, but Sarah (Svanstedt) said he had a good week. I gave him a chance, and he raced really big."

The victorious Trixton colt is trained by Ake Svanstedt for owner Jula Racing Inc. Jula Trix Treasure is now a five-time winner from 15 appearances, and he has banked C$182,020. He was a 3-1 offering and paid $8.20 to win.