by Mark McKelvie, WEG Communications

Milton, ON — Louis Philippe Roy recorded his 1,000th career driving victory with an Ontario Sires Stakes score on Friday evening (Aug. 10) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Roy, 28, entered the evening just two wins shy of the milestone and proceeded to post three wins in seven drives.

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Louis Philippe Roy is presented with a sign from Bill McLinchey, Director of Racing, following his 1,000th career driving victory Friday.

The Mont-Joli, Quebec native picked up his first win of the evening in the sixth race with pacing mare Cenalta Call Girl and just three races later hit the 1,000 win mark with rookie trotting filly Hp Titania Runner in a C$98,800 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event.

Roy is currently this season’s Woodbine leading driver and his climb from Quebec fairs to top driver in Canada has been unprecedented. Roy’s first drive took place in 2008 and by the end of 2014 he had 253 races under his belt. That number has skyrocketed to more than 4,800.

“I’m always telling the same story, but every time I take my time to look at where I was just two, three years ago and where I am now, it’s always over my expectations,” said Roy following his 1,000th win. “I don’t think anyone would expect to go so quickly from the fair racetrack to the biggest track in Canada.”

The young reinsman appeared on the Woodbine circuit in late 2016 and has been racking up the victories at a rapid pace, while becoming a go-to driver for many top trainers.

Roy posted 380 wins last season and currently sits at 260 for the current year.

Also on Friday, Witch Dali extended her current win streak to three with a late-charging score in the C$30,000 Mares Preferred.

A talented group of six older pacing mares clashed in the top class Friday. Witch Dali was making her first start since July 13 and went off as the 9-5 second choice, as Firebby, the most recent Mares Preferred winner, was made the 7-5 favorite.

Firebby shot out to the lead and called the shots for most of the mile, posting fractions of :27, :55.3 and 1:23.3. Meanwhile, Witch Dali and driver Jody Jamieson got away at the back of the pack, but were just a little less than four lengths from the lead while fifth at three-quarters.

In the stretch, Firebby held off first-up challenger Bettor’s Up, but couldn’t stop Witch Dali from soaring by in deep stretch for a half-length score in 1:51.1. Shezarealdeal finished third, while Bettor’s Up was fourth.

Trained by Richard Moreau, Witch Dali is now seven for 14 with C$140,900 earned this season. The 7-year-old, who is owned by Brad Grant, notched her 30th career victory and went over C$600,000 in career earnings with Friday’s victory. Witch Dali, who has now won four of her last five starts, paid $5.90 to win.

Live racing continues Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 7:30 p.m.