Chantilly, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, set a career-best 1:49 4/5 mark while easily besting a field of 10 in the lone C$140,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series event for 3-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday (May 24) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. It was the first OSS Gold event of 2025.
Millar Farms' homebred daughter of Big Jim out of Shiraz Seelster, who was sent off at 1-9, is now undefeated through all 11 career starts. It was her second pari-mutuel win of 2025 and pushed her career earnings to the brink of $900,000 ($897,756 CDN to be exact).
Starting from the rail, driver James MacDonald positioned Chantilly fourth in the early going. The pair took the lead with a strong brush before reaching the half in 55 seconds. They opened up on the field from there through the three-quarters in 1:21 4/5 and came home in 28 seconds to win by 4 1/2 lengths over Wickedpace on a cold, windy night.
Perfectly Chic was third, Wicked N Single finished fourth and Outtathisworld Deo picked up the final check.
"[Chantilly's] high gear is just something else," MacDonald told Woodbine Mohawk Park's Chad Rozema. "I was able to clear the lead pretty, pretty easily. And then she's just one of those horses - and I've only driven a few of them in my life - where you feel like you're absolutely crawling… You've got to be careful with her, because she's just got unbelievable speed.
"She's just a special horse. She's passed every test with flying colors. I would have liked to go 1:52 with the brakes on, but she's got other plans. Sometimes when you put her in top gear she's just relentless with her speed. Hopefully, she keeps carrying on to bigger and better things."
Whether that means Chantilly will be entered against the boys in the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup or the Fan Hanover for sophomore fillies (both have their finals on June 14 at Woodbine Mohawk Park) will be up to her owner George Millar, said Chantilly's trainer Nick Gallucci.
"It's going to be George Millar's call," Gallucci said. "We'll just see what happens, and I'm good with whatever decision he makes."
Chantilly will get next week off, Gallucci said.
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Later on the program, Sterling Choice and Control Rocks won the two C$90,000 Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold Series events for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Both winners set career-best miles and had first-time drivers.
In the first division (race six), roan pacer Sterling Choice, bred by Winbak Farm, led most of the way, scoring a 1:50 4/5 victory for owner/trainer Blake MacIntosh and his ownership partners Ozzie and Tammy Lynn MacKay, who purchased Sterling Choice for $15,000 at the 2023 Standardbred Horse Sales Company yearling auction in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Billy Davis Jr. drove the son of Betterthancheddar out of Platinum Choice for the first time, leading the field through fractions of 27 1/5, 56 3/5 and 1:24 1/5. Sterling Choice scored a 2 1/2 length win over Set Shot. Favorite Aquinas Hanover was third and Fubar Bundy and Blue Bar picked up the final two checks, respectively.
Bettors sent Sterling Choice off at 5-2.
"He's just so handy off the gate," Davis Jr. said to Rozema. "He can get away so quickly, then he's got great manners and you just can relax and get a nice breather in the middle of the mile."
It was the first win of 2025 for Sterling Choice in three starts. He now sports a lifetime record of 3-4-4 in 14 starts and earnings of C$362,380.
MacIntosh said Sterling Choice would likely contest the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park next Saturday (May 31) before deciding whether to enter the pacer in the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup.
"He's matured a lot, filled out a lot and he looks great," MacIntosh said. "He's a horse sort of like Rodney Dangerfield. He doesn't get any respect. Every driver picks off him every week, so hopefully Billy sticks with him."
In the second division, Control Rocks and first-time driver Tyler Borth scored a 17-1 upset in a division featuring 1-9 favorite Crack Shot, who finished fourth.
Control Rocks, a gelded son of Control The Moment out of Katie Rocks that was bred by Ben Mudry of Toronto and is owned and trained by Jack Darling, posted a 1:50 1/5 lifetime-best clocking in just his fifth lifetime start.
The pacer battled early with Stonebridge Wizard, with Control Rocks taking control up the backstretch and holding off the field from there to record a 1 3/4 length victory.
"I didn't really know much about [Control Rocks] at all," Borth told Rozema. "I thought he raced pretty good last week. I didn't think there was a ton of inside speed, and he felt like a big, strong horse in the post parade, so I elected to get him out of there.
"I didn't know he was that kind of horse, but he was amazing."
Tip Of Time was second, Fifth And Five was third and Mood Control finished just behind Crack Shot in fifth.
It was Control Rocks’ second win in four 2025 starts. He is now 2-1-1 lifetime. He made just one start in 2024.
"It was kind of a mystery," Darling said of Control Rocks' 2-year-old season. "He qualified decently, and then his next start, he was terrible. Something went wrong. He got a little bit sick, and I just quit with him."
Darling, who purchased Control Rocks for C$33,000 at the 2023 London Classic Yearling Sale, said the gelding will mostly race in the Ontario Sires Stakes program this year.
--press release (Ontario Sires Stakes)--