Stonebridge Helios commanding in Champlain

September 12, 2021

Stonebridge Helios muscled to the top and battled off a third quarter challenge to win the $213,170 open harness racing division of the Champlain Stakes on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park.


Bob McClure kept the son of Sunshine Beachwide entering the first turn as they floated out from post eight and hurried him to the front in a :27.3 opening quarter mile. They took a backstretch breather, hitting the half in :56.3, and warred against the pocket-popping Market Based (Dexter Dunn) as they passed three-quarters in 1:25.

Stonebridge Helios repelled his rival as they straightened for home and kicked away to a three-and-a-quarter-length score in 1:52.1. Market Based was clear in second; Century Inspector (Tyler Moore) was a couple of lengths behind him in third.


“He did it really easy so we ended up getting away, and he was either be in a position to either get to the front or go first up,” McClure said. “He felt so good I just decided to give him his head and let him go cut it. He got to the front and was really relaxed, and about halfway through the far turn I just spoke to him and he swelled right up. And wow, did he ever kick home. I shut him down pretty early, just kept his attention… he’s progressing into an extremely nice colt.”


Stonebridge Helios improved his lifetime record to four-for-six lifetime with the victory against freshman and increased his earnings to more than $250,000. He has now won three straight with two previous wins in Ontario Sires Stakes Golds. John Pentland trains and co-ownsthe colt with John Fleischman of Ottawa, Angie Stiller of Arva.


Silver Label stayed unbeaten through six starts as she fired from fifth to first uncovered to earned a 1:52.2 victory in the $180,520 division of the Champlain for fillies.


James MacDonald piloted the Nick Gallucci trainee to her sixth lifetime victory for Millar Farms, which bred and owns the horse. Silver Label debuted in the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots but moved up to the Gold level and won three before her Champlain score. The daughter of Bettors Delight has earned $246,176 to date.


“I didn’t want to get in a big rush with her and blast her to the front,” MacDonald said after the race. “She really loves coming off a helmet. I was hoping I could find one. I probably could’ve brushed her to the lead, but I just had so much confidence in her. I said ‘If I got to come first up, I got to come first up.’ When she sees a horse, she just really wants to track them down. I was really confident – it looked like Todd [McCarthy and Boudoir Hanover] was going to get away, and then she just finds more every time you need her to. Just a beautiful horse and a pleasure to drive.”

June 25, 2026
Stonebridge Wings ($6.90) took the second Grassroots division as he nailed favourite Tavern On the Green (Louis-Philippe Roy) by a head to score in 1:53.3. Zillennial (McNair) finished third, June 25 at Mohawk. Marcel Barrieau trains Stonebridge Wings, an Archangel-Stonebridge Glider gelding, and co-owns him with Gestion Mastel Inc. of Longueil, Que.
June 20, 2026
London Classic Yearling Sale graduate Stonebridge Wings earned his maiden victory on Saturday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The three-year-old son of Archangel sat patiently off the pace before driver Bob McClure angled him into the outer flow turning for home. Stonebridge Wings powered through the stretch and got up in the final strides to score in 1:55.4 for trainer Marcel Barrieau.
June 10, 2026
Linda Toscano, Joe Bongiorno and Ron Burke each had multiple training wins at the first week of two-year-old qualifiers at Gaitway Farm on Wednesday, June 10. Burke’s three winners were pacing colts Midwind Buxton and Stonebridge Blitz and trotting filly Nevis Peak, all driven by Yannick Gingras. Stonebridge Blitz (Tall Dark Stranger-Shouldabeenatd) also triumphed in 1:56.1, and also with a :27 last quarter from out of the pocket after stablemate JK Lmnop set the pace. Stonebridge Blitz was purchased for $55,556 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Larry Karr, Michael Rosenthal and Frank Baldachino. He was bred by Stonebridge Farm Ltd.
June 10, 2026
Stonebridge Blitz ( Tall Dark Stranger -Shouldabeenatd) triumphed in 1:56.1, and also with a :27 last quarter from out of the pocket after stablemate JK Lmnop set the pace at Wednesday’s (June 10) first week of 2-year-old qualifiers at Gaitway Farm.. Stonebridge Blitz was purchased for $40,000 at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale and is owned by Burke Racing Stable, Larry Karr, Michael Rosenthal, and Frank Baldachino. He was bred by Stonebridge Farm LTD. 
June 22, 2025
Stonebridge Reef made it three straight victories in the Winners Over Pace at Tioga Downs as the Jeff Cullipher-trained stallion won the $17,808 feature on Sunday, June 22. Stonebridge Reef ($3.70) went straight to the front for Tyler Miller, reigned unchallenged as he cut fractions of :26.4 and :55.3, and started to widen the lead over Bb Lucky Boy (Braxten Boyd) as the field travelled down the backstretch to three-quarters in 1:22.1. As they made the turn for home, it became a race for the minors as Stonebridge Reef cruised to a 3-1/2-length victory in a seasonal-best 1:50.1. Vengeance Bluechip (Jim Pantaleano) rallied to take second over Intimidation (Ridge Warren). Stonebridge Reef , a seven-year-old stallion, is undefeated in three starts at Tioga Downs since moving to the track from Pocono Downs earlier this month. He is now seven-for-15 this term and notched his 24th win in 114 lifetime starts. The son of Somebeachsomewhere-Rock N Soul is owned by Pollack Racing Stable LLC. Leading driver Braxten Boyd continued his dominance at Tioga, winning five more races on the 12-dash card. The reinsman, now ahead of Tyler Miller by 21 wins in the standings, won with Smart Guy ($9), Top Tier ($7.10), Ozark ($2.50), Dontbothermenone N ($5.50) and Orlando Blue A ($4.40). Pantaleano and trainer Mike Deters teamed up for three wins on the card. They struck with Always B Elvis ($4.40), Parmesan N ($4.20) and Mea Culpa A ($3). The 14-year-old trotting gelding Everyones Talkin reached 50 career wins as he took the finale. The veteran by Donato Hanover-Poster Princess got every call and won the $11,644 Southern Tier Amateur Club dash in 1:57.2 with Ron Cusimano in the bike. Sir Jesse (Lee Morris) finished second by 2-1/2 lengths after a first-over effort. Kruise On Dover (Cameron Capone) was third. Everyones Talkin made his second start for trainer Edgar Clarke in the victory, the gelding's first of the season in seven appearances. He hit the 50-win milestone in start number 349 while increasing his career earnings to $451,532. Cusimano Stables LLC owns the gelding. Tioga Downs will host its next card on Friday, June 27 with a post time of 6:15 p.m.
June 8, 2025
Stonebridge Reef , driven by Tyler Miller, won the $16,438 Winners Over Handicap Pace in his Tioga Downs debut on Sunday, June 8. BB Lucky Boy (Braxten Boyd) went straight to the front in a :26.4 quarter before backing down the pace to the half in :56.2. He was prompted to pick it up again as Livonjaxandqueens (Colin Kelly) went first-up down the backstretch and challenged to three-quarters in 1:22.3. But as they reached the stretch, pocket-sitter Stonebridge Reef rushed three-wide and blew right on by to win in 1:51.2 by 3-1/4 lengths. Primo Uomo (Warren Ridge) was flying late from the back of the six-pack to finish second over another closer, Little Willy (Aaron Byron), and Livonjaxandqueens. Stonebridge Reef , a seven-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere out of Rock N Soul, is trained by Jeff Cullipher and owned by Pollack Racing. He earned his fifth win of the year from 13 starts, pushing his seasonal earnings over $50,000. Stonebridge Reef paid $4.40 to win as the bettors' choice. Live harness racing resumes at Tioga Downs on Friday, June 13, with a post time of 6:15 p.m. (With files from Tioga Downs)
February 9, 2025
Standardbred Canada announced the winners of the 2024 O’Brien Awards, honouring Canada’s best in harness racing over the past season, at the Black Tie Gala on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025 in Mississauga, Ont. The event marked the 36th edition of the O’Brien Awards, named in honour of the late Joe O’Brien, an outstanding horseman from Prince Edward Island and member of the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Stonebridge Wizard received the O’Brien Award in the Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt category. The Dancin Lou-Odds On Magic gelding had his winner’s circle photograph taken five times from nine starts as a rookie for trainer Jared Bako. Stonebridge Wizard was a stalwart in the OSS from start to finish, claiming wins in both the season's first and last Gold legs. Sandwiched between those Gold triumphs was his biggest payday, which came in a hard-fought victory in the $245,400 Battle of Waterloo at Grand River Raceway, where he earned his lifetime mark of 1:51.2.
October 3, 2024
Thursday (Oct. 3) evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Stonebridge Wizard took the first of two $95,000 OSS Gold splits for the freshman boys with a hefty 15-1 upset. Doug McNair took the Jared Bako student into third and they bided their time through marks in :28, :57, and 1:24.4. Sliding up the inside, Stonebridge Wizard was able to zip past the field and win by a neck in 1:51.4. Sauble Wizard (Bob McClure) closed sharply, but was bested at the wire. Smiling Dancer (James MacDonald) rounded out the show ticket. "He showed tonight he was tough as whalebone," McNair said. "He did a lot of work in the stretch to get by a lot of horses." David Kryway owns the Dancin Lou - Odds On Magic gelding as he moved his record to 5-1-0 in eight starts. Stonebridge Wizard has banked $281,100 in his young career to date. He paid $32.70 to win.
September 16, 2024
Stonebridge Thrill bested his stablemate at the wire in one of two $20,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots divisions at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday (Sept. 16) evening as one of four top performers from the Anthony Beaton Stable on the card. Beaton had a pair of starters in both OSS Grassroots divisions for sophomore pacing colts and geldings and they returned with a record of 1-2-1 for the evening tally. Mcpleasant (James MacDonald) was the first to the quarter timer in :26.4, while his stablemate Stonebridge Thrill (Tyler Borth) was caught on the outside in fourth. Borth moved Stonebridge Thrill along the pylons before the :54.3 half while Do Better took over from Mcpleasant as the leader. Before the three-quarters in 1:22.4, Stonebridge Thrill was out on the move again, following the cover of Mcpleasant. A miscue by Do Better left the stablemates to battle for victory at the wire. Both pacing a 1:49.4 final mile time, Stonebridge Thrill did the better work with his :26.3 last quarter to win by a half length in 1:49.4. Chalk Hanover (Jody Jamieson) was third. Stonebridge Thrill is a three-year-old son of Bettors Delight and the Somebeachsomewhere mare Inverse Hanover owned by Mac and Carol Nichol. He won his first race of the year and third race from 22 starts in a career best time, pushing his lifetime sum to $86,986.
August 23, 2024
Stonebridge Farm are pleased to welcome the talented pacing mare Lee Loo to their broodmare band. A winner of close to $300,000 in her racing career, Lee Loo graduated from the New York Sire Stakes to open mare competition before being retired this summer. In total the daughter of Huntsville faced the gate 87 times and recorded a summary of 15-10-10 and a life record of 1:50.2 taken as a three-year-old. Lee Loo is from the Rock N Roll Heaven daughter Taiya Hanover who has also produced McNeil Z Tam p, 4, 1:51.4f ($133,781); S McKee p, 4, 1:52.3; Hes Express p, 3 1:54.3h ($71,475) and this year’s sophomore Whereicomefrom p, 3, 1:54.3f –‘24, also by Huntsville. Taiya is a sister to a pair of millionaires – Luck Be Withyou ($1.4M) and American Jewel ($1.8), the latter the dam of this year’s standout Odds On Platinum p, 3, 1:49 –’24 ($788,198). Stonebridge Farm welcomes Lee Loo to our select group of broodmares and look forward to selecting her first consort.
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