Woodbine Mohawk Park: Sophomore pacing males battle in OSS Gold Series

Horses coming from well off-the-pace went two-for-two in Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series tests for sophomore colt and gelding pacers on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

All eyes were on Stockade Seelster (Jody Jamieson) in the first C$100,400 division, and he pulled out of fourth past the 26 3/5 opening quarter and wrestled the lead away from Verdun (Louis-Philippe Roy) beyond the 54 3/5 half. Stockade Seelster remained in charge at the 1:22 2/5 three-quarters, but he was under pressure from a first-over Macs Delight (Jonathan Drury), with Fade To Light (Doug McNair) and Midnight Nation (Trevor Henry) following his cover.

In the lane Stockade Seelster gave way to Macs Delight, but Henry had Midnight Nation finishing with a big kick on the far outside, and Midnight Nation got up late to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:49 3/5 with his own last quarter in 25 4/5. Verdun was next, followed by Macs Delight.

"He was real good tonight. They raced hard up front and we got to finish it off," remarked Henry. "I saw Stockade was struggling and the horses on the inside weren't making much ground. I was the only one making ground, so I knew I had a pretty good shot.

"Tonight, he had to race and he showed he belonged."

Richard Moreau trains the victorious Betterthancheddar gelding for owners Shaun Vallee and D P V Racing Stable. Bred by Princeton Farms, he has a trio of wins from eight starts, earnings of C$141,905, and he paid $29.70 to win as a 13-1 offering.

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The other C$101,300 flight saw Moment Is Here (James MacDonald) on the engine at the 26 4/5 quarter, but he would be overtaken by a brushing No Control (Sylvain Filion) before the 55 1/5 half. On the last turn, Whatchulookin At (McNair) came with a big first-over brush out of sixth that carried him side-by-side with No Controla at the 1:24 three-quarters, but No Control was able to counter and quicken at the inside, extending the battle for the top spot into the lane.

No Control and Whatchulookin At continued to duel through the drive, with Moment Is Here also joining them on the inside, but coming widest was Better B Bold (Bob McClure), who gapped Whatchulookin At's cover on the final bend, and Better B Bold charged by them all late to score by half a length in 1:50 2/5. Moment Is Here wound up second, followed by No Control.

"He's a very nice colt. He hasn't been tested much. He only had one or two races at 2 and then got hurt," said McClure. "He hasn't had a whole bunch of races this year, so I think he's going to keep improving the more races he gets under his belt.

"I was asking about him over the winter because everybody knew what he did in that one race (an eighth to second rally in a Gold Series race at Mohawk on July 9, 2022). They have to do something pretty special in that one race for people to talk about them all winter."

Better B Bold is a Winbak Farm-bred colt by Betterthancheddar trained by Shawn Steacy for owners Mark Steacy, David Reid, Landmark 15 Racing Stable and Bc Reichheld Stables. He has a record of 2-2-0 from five starts, has banked C$90,204, and returned $20.00 to win after being dispatched at 9-1.

"A short field really sets up well for him. He's a really fast horse for a piece, so on a night like tonight, he can show his stuff," stated Shawn Steacy. "I know we don't get out of the gate as fast as some of the other ones, so I was hoping the pace stayed really hot and that way we could get them at the end, and it worked out."