from the Ontario Sire Stakes

Campbellville, ON — Sylvain Filion had a golden touch at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday night (July 13), guiding both of his 2-year-old trotting colt mounts to an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series victory.

In the first $81,900 division Stormont Esquire surprised Filion, trainer Kevin Benn and the Mohawk Racetrack fans when he fired off the gate and had established a four length lead by the :28.3 opening quarter. When Willyorwonthe and driver Mike Saftic finally stepped up to take control heading for the :58.4 half Filion was content to sit behind the fan favorites.

Around the final turn Dewey Don’t Cheat pressed Willyorwonthe, getting out to a quarter-length lead by the 1:28.2 three-quarters. With an open lane behind the dueling leaders, Filion sent Stormont Esquire to the outside and asked him for another gear. The colt responded with a strong effort that saw him reel in the leaders and hold off a hard-charging Will Take Charge to score the quarter-length win in 1:57.4. Tony Soprano rounded out the top three.

“Kevin (Benn) just told me try to get him around, he’s really green. He didn’t have really much expectations, he said he liked him, but he meant that he was really green,” said Filion after the race. “So I put him on the gate and he got fired up and he wanted to leave the gate real hard, so I went on with him.

“Then I was waiting for Mike (Saftic) to come and cover me up — and obviously Mike’s horse wasn’t 100 percent tonight — and around the last turn we were able to find room and pull out, and he just got there,” Filion continued. “That was a nice surprise.”

Filion engineered the victory for trainer Benn and owner-breeder Stormont Meadows. Stormont Esquire is a son of Muscle Mass from the mare Queen Of Stormont, who earned $116,891 in her career and counts four $200,000-plus winners among her siblings.

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Sylvain Filion piloted Adored By Masses to a 1:56.3 Gold Series victory at Mohawk on July 13, one of two Gold wins for the driver on the program.

Starting from post seven in the second division, Filion had a vastly different situation on his hands. Where Stormont Esquire had been keen to accelerate away from the gate, Adored By Masses was not even keen to approach the gate. With a few colts making early breaks, Filion was able to land Adored By Masses in fifth, from where they watched Unitaliano Bi and Dad Leads battle through a :28 quarter and :58.2 half.

When fan favorite V For Victory tipped to the outside, Filion sent Adored By Masses up behind him and the colt reached the 1:27.2 three-quarters almost six lengths behind the leaders. Getting a clear look at the wire at the top of the stretch, Adored By Masses trotted steadily down the center of the racetrack and got a neck in front of Dad Leads, who went off stride just before the wire. V For Victory was well back in third. The time of the mile was 1:56.3.

“Robin, who takes care of him, who trains for Erv Miller, told me he was really, really lazy and you know what, she didn’t lie. Not often you see a lazy trotter, but he is lazy. So I had to work on him just to get him to the gate,” said Filion. “Once the gate left he kind of got into it; there was a lot of breakers leaving the gate and that helped us. We were able to sit fourth or fifth and we just kind of followed them along.

“Top of the stretch he kind of kicked in and got drifting out bad, and I was just worried to keep him trotting,” added the reinsman. “I was just hoping to finish in second because Mike (Saftic) had such a lead I didn’t think I was going to catch him. So I was just paying attention to my horse and all of a sudden I look and Mike’s on the run. That was kind of lucky I think, because no way we’re going to catch him (Dad Leads) if he doesn’t run.”

The 1:56.3 mile was the third straight win for Adored By Masses, who also captured a 2-year-old conditioned event at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on June 21 and one at Georgian Downs on July 4. Erv Miller conditions the Muscle Mass-Armbro Adored half-brother to $236,970 winner Pizzazzed for Anthony Lombardi, Paymaq Racing and Mystical Marker Farms.

The freshman trotting colts head to Georgian Downs for their second Gold leg on July 21, and Filion is hoping to be back in the race bike behind both colts.

“I’ll probably continue to drive them because I think them two colts are the kind of colts that are going to improve, they’re going to go forward,” Filion noted.

Ontario Sires Stakes action continues at Mohawk Racetrack this Thursday (July 16) when the Campbellville oval welcomes back the 3-year-old trotting fillies for their third Gold Series event. The sophomore trotting lasses will battle in races three and eight on the 7:25 p.m. program.