Stakes season at Woodbine Mohawk Park is just around the corner and racing fans will get an opportunity to whet their appetite with this Saturday’s edition of the $34,000 Preferred Pace.

Millionaire pacer Sintra (PP5, Jody Jamieson) increased his current win streak to six with an impressive 1:50.1 score in last week’s Preferred, his first start since late February. The six-year-old gelding has been rolling in the Preferred this season, but with a new month comes new challengers.

Stars Jimmy Freight, last year’s O’Brien Award winner for sophomore pacing colts, and Dr J Hanover, the fastest Standardbred in Canadian harness racing history, join Sintra and four other rivals to make up this week’s edition of the $34,000 Preferred.

Richard Moreau trainee Jimmy Freight (PP1, Louis Philippe Roy) will be making his four-year-old debut in Saturday’s contest and comes in off a sharp 1:52.4 qualifying effort last Thursday. The Ontario Sires Stakes champion is prepping for next weekend’s Confederation Cup eliminations.

Jimmy Freight is no stranger to facing older company, having faced aged competitors on multiple occasions last season. The son of Sportswriter grabbed headlines with a third-place effort (behind Sintra and eventual Horse of the Year McWicked) in last year’s Mohawk Gold Cup, which was part of an incredible season that saw him win 11 of 21 starts and earn $834,489 en route to divisional honours for owner Adriano Sorella.

Dr J Hanover (PP2, Doug McNair) comes to town after battling in the Levy Series at Yonkers Raceway. The six-year-old Tony Alagna trainee most recently captured a $50,000 Levy Eligible contest on April 20 for his first win in seven starts this season.

The fastest horse on Canadian soil by virtue of his 1:46.4 performance at Mohawk in 2017, Dr J Hanover scored six wins and made $227,980 in 23 starts last season, which included appearances in the Canadian Pacing Derby and TVG Open. He races for owners Brad Grant, Robert LeBlanc, Steven Wienick and ISFT.

Saturday’s Preferred also includes recent winners Traceur Hanover (PP3, Chris Christoforou) and Physicallyinclined (PP7, Jonathan Drury). The field is rounded out by Go West Go Fast (PP4, Sylvain Filion) and P L Jackson (Travis Cullen).

The Preferred is carded as Race 6 on Saturday’s 11-race card. First post time is 7:10 p.m. To the entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Woodbine Mohawk Park has horseplayers covered this Saturday for the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby.

Fans can watch and wager on all the action from Churchill Downs by visiting the main floor simulcast area. Carrels in the Racebook have been sold out for two weeks, but plenty of seating and screens are available throughout the facility.

Trackside Bar will be opening early at 4:00 p.m. for food and drink service ahead of the Derby and Saturday evening’s live racing program.

(Woodbine)