Upgrade extends perfect Grassroots record with fourth straight win at Mohawk

CAMPBELLVILLE, ON. Upgrade (Green Manalishi S) is yet to be beaten in Grassroots company, and she made it four from four with a comfortable win in Sunday’s (Aug. 9) card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The sophomore trotting filly went winless through her entire freshman Ontario Sires Stakes campaign last year, making seven of her eight rookie starts in the provincial program without finding the winner’s circle. This year has been a different story entirely.

Sent out at $14.90 for regular driver Todd Ratchford and trainer Matt Bax, Upgrade took one of Sunday’s three $30,000 Grassroots divisions in a new lifetime mark of 1:54.2. She raced midfield through a :27.4 opening quarter before Ratchford eased her to the front, and she was past the half in :57.3. The one danger, 6-5 favourite Bella Chica (Bob McClure), loomed through three-quarters in 1:25.4 but never got to her. Upgrade cruised home by 1-1/2 lengths, with Life Is Great (James MacDonald) second and Bella Chica settling for third.

The result stretches Upgrade’s sophomore record to five wins from 14 starts, with her four Grassroots victories accounting for more than half of her $94,684 in career earnings. The filly, out of the Credit Winner mare Uptown Classic, races for owners Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont., and Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.

Elbows Up (Muscle Mass) claimed her third Grassroots trophy of the season in the fastest of the night’s three divisions, stopping the clock in a career-best 1:53 for trainer Shawn Steacy. The even-money favourite was forced three wide briefly after driver Jonathan Drury moved her up from fourth down the backstretch, but she cleared her rivals regardless and drew off to a 2-1/4-length win over closers Rare Legacy (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Twin B Show Biz (Tyler Borth). She races for the ownership group of Doug Clark of Mississauga, Ont., Mark and Cara Steacy of Lansdowne, Ont., and Guy Haskell of Guelph, Ont.

Barbara May (Alarm Detector) rounded out the Grassroots action with her first provincial stakes win after dropping down from the Gold ranks. The 4-5 favourite matched her own lifetime mark of 1:54 flat for driver Doug McNair and trainer Gregg McNair, advancing three wide into the final turn before benefiting when leader Ronda May K (Jody Jamieson) broke stride deep in the stretch. A Splash Of Green (James MacDonald) finished three lengths back in second, with Jenny Da Vie (Chris Christoforou) third. The homebred races for owners Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines, Ont.

 

by Harnesslink Media