The Canadian-sired Graduate Series for 4-year-olds wrapped up Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park with a trio of finals, and Funtime Bayama, Sorcha Seelster and Paquet took the top spot in their respective events.
The C$79,000 Graduate final for male pacers saw Funtime Bayama find the racing room he needed just in time to nail Century Komodo at the wire in 1:50 2/5. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite, Funtime Bayama flashed early speed but was forced to take a seat in second behind Century Komodo. The leader would post a 26 4/5 opening-quarter before slowing things down to a 29 1/5 second quarter.
As the field of five bunched going to three-quarters, Century Komodo got the field to that marker in 1:24 to set up a stretch sprint. With a rival to his outside and Century Komodo holding the rail, Funtime Bayama and driver James MacDonald didn't have a lot of options other than to hope some room would develop in the lane.
As the field came through the final sixteenth of a mile, MacDonald was able to angle Funtime Bayama out to a clear path and slingshot up to narrowly defeat Century Komodo. Chain Gang finished third, while Merigo Magic was fourth.
Trained by Andrew Harris, Funtime Bayama was making just his second start back after a significant injury last July.
"It's hard when you're bringing a horse back like that," said MacDonald. "I know Andrew (Harris) and Mr. Pollock were probably dying to win, but you don't want to just gun him and roll him down the road and have him get beat, especially being off that long.
"I knew there was a good chance I might not get out, but the way he felt last week, I thought if I got some daylight somewhere he'd probably get the job done."
A son of He's Watching, Funtime Bayama's first win of 2025 gives him nine wins and over C$450,000 earned. He races for owners Bill Pollock, Bruce Areman and Harris. Funtime Bayama paid $3.20 to win.
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The C$78,500 Graduate final for mare pacers saw Sorcha Seelster strike at 7-1 for driver Bob McClure and trainer John Pentland. The daughter of All Bets Off sat fourth in a field of five before angling out turning for home and unleashing a 27 second final quarter to defeat favorite Coco Jo Jo by a head in 1:50 4/5. Collusion Hanover finished third, while Resilence was fourth.
"It's been a slow start to the year, but she's a class horse," said Pentland following Sorcha Seelster's surprise first win of the season. "It's a shock (the win). She battled being in heat with like a follicle bothering her all week, and I would've been happier if we were in the 12th race; that was the timing going on to try and get that to knock off. She's tough as nails and overcame it."
Sorcha Seelster is now a nine-time winner for her career, taking her earnings over C$200,000 for owners R C Molyneux Racing, Pentland, Peter Charlton and the Estate of Archie Leach.
Sorcha Seelster paid $16.80 to win.
Paquet made a backstretch move to the lead and never looked back for a career-best 1:52 1/5 victory in the C$81,500 Graduate final for 4-year-old trotters.
A son of Muscle Mass, Paquet made it a clean sweep of the Graduate with a 2 1/4 length victory for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Carl Jamieson.
"Everything is going great," said Hall of Famer Carl Jamieson. "He's a lovely horse, does everything real easy and we're going for big money now. We paid him up into a lot of stuff."
The Canadian Graduate final was just the 11th start of the career for Paquet, who had to overcome multiple issues to make it to the races. He now has seven wins and over C$400,000 earned for owners Carl Jamieson, Estate of Brian Paquet, 1140545 Ontario Limited and Doug Good.
Sid The Kid, who shot out to the early lead, held second, while Willowtime and Willys Home Run completed the top four.
Paquet paid $2.20 to win.
Live racing resumes Monday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 6:35 p.m.
--press release (Woodbine Mohawk Park)--