Bright Eyes M headlines OSS action

Milton, ON — Fillies of the trotting persuasion invaded Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday night (July 18) for two Gold Series divisions and sophomore trotting filly Bright Eyes M delivered a standout performance in the first C$105,600 Gold contest, romping to a four-length victory in a lifetime best 1:53.

Bright Eyes M trots to a new lifetime mark of 1:53.1 in OSS action at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Thursday night. New Image Media photo.

Sent off as the heavy favorites, regular reinsman Stephen Byron and Bright Eyes M went straight to the front from post position seven and reached the quarter pole in :27.1. Byron eased off the accelerator in the second quarter, reaching the half in :57.2, which allowed Royal Esteem to catch Bright Eyes M and lead the field to a 1:25 three-quarters.

Royal Esteem’s lead was short lived however, as Bright Eyes M powered down the stretch to her third straight Gold Series victory. Royal Esteem was a comfortable second, one length ahead of Mercedes Talma.

“You get a little nervous when that happens, but I was always worried about her being on the front end because she can stop up on you,” said trainer John Bax of Royal Esteem rolling past Bright Eyes M. “She’s getting a little more manageable all the time, but she’s certainly got her own mind.”

“She’s got the desire, you can’t teach that. She digs in and she says, ‘I’m taking this, get the heck out of my way’.”

In her seven sophomore starts Bright Eyes M has posted five wins and two seconds, banking C$208,505 for owners Menhammar Stuteri AB. Her next Gold Series start is on Aug. 13 at Georgian Downs and Bax says the Kadabra-Motown Muscle filly will likely make one overnight start before then.

“I’ve got to decide what to do on that, but so far it’s been like every two weeks and that’s pretty nice,” he said. “I think she could use it and I think it’s good for her mental state as much as her physical state. I’ll play it by ear, give her a week off and then see where we go from there.”

The other C$105,600 Gold Series split saw Teddys Littleangel catch fan favorite Haveoneforme in the stretch to record her second straight Gold win.

Driver Doug McNair moved Teddys Littleangel smartly away from post position six and the filly led the field to a :28.2 quarter before yielding to the heavily favored Haveoneforme. Haveoneforme marched on to a :57.4 half and 1:26.1 three-quarters and turned for home 1-1/2 lengths in front, but Teddys Littleangel had something in reserve and got a neck in front at the wire to claim the 1:54.4 victory. Haveoneforme settled for second and Angies Luckeylady closed hard for third.

“She was really good tonight, nice easy fractions and she kicked home when she had too,” said Ted MacDonnell, who trains Teddys Littleangel for owner-breeder Leonard Gamble.

Teddys Littleangel was also a narrow winner in the July 3 Gold Series event at Grand River Raceway and MacDonnell is relieved to see the winner of C$266,893 getting back on track after a shaky start to the sophomore campaign.

“It’s just been a work in progress,” he said. “Her blood kind of got out of kilter on me and just a few little things. I think we’ve got her back now, she seems back to her old self.”

Like Bax, MacDonnell will be looking for one start for the Archangel-Pine Knolls filly before the Aug. 13 Gold Series event.

Complete results from Thursday’s program are available by clicking here.

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