Woodbine Mohawk Park: Touchedbyanangel wires rivals in OSS Gold Series

Touchedbyanangel posted a 1:52 1/5 career-best win, and pushed his lifetime earnings to brink of C$500,000 in the lone C$150,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Leg 5 division for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Saturday (Sept. 12) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Sent off as 9-5 second choice in the field of six, Touchedbyanangel and red-hot driver Doug McNair left with authority, was on top soon after, and then led the group through fractions of 27 2/5, 56 4/5 and 1:25 1/5. Strobe Lite (James MacDonald), the 2-5 favorite, sat fourth before making his move at the half. He crept up to second and threatened to go past Touchedbyanangel in the stretch, but McNair's colt rebuffed the challenge to win by a head.

"[Touchedbyanangel is] a funny horse sometimes to drive," McNair told Woodbine broadcaster John Rallis. "He doesn't really love the front. James knows that, so I figured once I made the lead, he was going to let me get away with as soft of fractions as I wanted to go because he can usually beat me when I'm in the front and he's first-up. But today, in the last turn, usually I try to get away from him. Today, I just kind of let him float up to my wheel, and my horse just felt a lot braver. He raced great, and he kicked home well, for him."

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Stormont Shanlyboy (Tyler Jones) was third, followed by Toss Of The Dice (Trevor Henry) and The Green Gazoo (Todd Ratchford).

Touchedbyanangel paid $5.70 to win. There was no show wagering.

It was the second Gold victory this year for the gelded son of Archangel out of Rubys Are Nice, who won the first leg back on May 24.

Touchedbyanangel improved to 4-3-4 in 13 starts this year and 6-4-4 in 25 lifetime outings for owner/breeder Blair Corbeil and his ownership partners Yolanda Fellows, Mike McAllister and Peter Porter. Touchedbyanangel, trained by Kyle Fellows, has now earned C$308,677 this year and C$499,064 lifetime.

The gelding was a $70,000 purchase at the 2024 Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling sale in Harrisburg, PA.

--press release (Ontario Racing)--