Grand Circuit contenders will head to Woodbine Mohawk Park this Friday, Aug. 22 and Saturday, Aug. 23 for eliminations and finals of major stakes events, with purses totalling more than $1.8 million.

On Friday, sophomore trotting fillies will contest two divisions of the Casual Breeze, and the field for the Maple Leaf Trot will be decided via two $50,000 eliminations.

Lasting Dream (PP5, Louis-Philippe Roy, 3-5) enters the $78,250 first division of the Casual Breeze (Race 3) off a track record-tying performance in 1:51.3 in the Delmonica Hanover Consolation II at Pocono Downs on Aug. 16. She will aim for her third straight stakes score for Team Determination. Last year’s Mohawk Million and Peaceful Way runner-up will take on Stormont Beautiful (PP7, Bob McClure, 9-2), who was fourth in an Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold on Aug. 9 after a first-over bid, and Medley Seelster (PP3, Jody Jamieson, 10-1), a Gold winner last year who made her seasonal debut in an OSS Grassroots win on Aug. 13.

R Dutchess (PP1, Tim Tetrick, 8-5) leads a strong $77,250 second Casual Breeze split (Race 9), coming off a dominant victory in the Delmonica Hanover Consolation I on Sun Stakes Saturday. Sprite Seelster (PP2, Tyler Borth, 3-1), a two-time OSS Gold winner this year, will aim to defend home soil for her fourth victory of the season. Other contenders include Foxe Amee (PP4, Doug McNair, 5-2), who returned to the Gold level last week and finished second in a 1:52 mile, and Zette Athena (PP6, Bob McClure, 5-1), coming off a lifetime-best 1:53.1 victory in an overnight event.

Call Me Goo (PP1, Ake Svanstedt, 4-1), a 2024 Breeders Crown champion and O'Brien Award winner, features in the first Maple Leaf Trot elimination (Race 6) as she looks to beat a field of six males and one other mare. She is two-for-five this season with stakes wins in the Six Pack and Miss Versatility. Fellow O'Brien winner Highland Kismet (PP2, Tetrick, 5-2) will look to build upward momentum after seeming to right the ship with an impressive 1:50.1 score at The Red Mile on Aug. 13, giving him the fastest mark in the field. They face a filed of elite trotters that includes Hillexotic (PP5, Jamieson, 6-1), who was second in a world-record mile last out, Aetos Kronos S (PP6, Dexter Dunn, 9-5), coming off a 1:50.4 romp at The Meadowlands and Drawn Impression (PP7, Roy, 10-1).

Periculum (PP2, Scott Zeron, 7-5) is set to begin his Maple Leaf Trot title defence in the second elim (Race 10). He has won three stakes events in four outings this year, highlighted by a 1:49.3 performance last out in the Cashman Memorial. Mohawk Preferred juggernaut Logan Park (PP8, McNair, 5-2) takes his fourth shot in the Maple Leaf Trot after a tough show finish in the Earl Rowe on Aug. 10. They will take on the likes of Spirit of Massachusetts winner Up Your Deo (PP3, Svanstedt, 8-1), Earl Rowe runner-up Private Access (PP5, Roy, 6-1), and top-level overnight competitor Osceola (PP4, McClure, 10-1) in an eight-horse field.

The top five finishers from each elimination will move on to the final on Aug. 30 at Mohawk, carrying an estimated purse of $600,000.

The Friday card also features one $140,000 OSS Gold Leg 4 dash for sophomore trotting colts and geldings in Race 2. OSS record holder P L Spencer (PP1, McClure, 7-5) will return after his Dream of Glory win and aim for his third Gold victory of the year in a five-horse group.

On Saturday, Canada’s top rookie trotters will go behind the gate in the $485,000 William Wellwood Memorial (Race 10) and its filly counterpart, the $385,000 Peaceful Way (Race 7). There will also be two $50,000 eliminations for the Canadian Pacing Derby for pacers three years old and up (Races 5 and 8), a pair of $117,150 Nassagaweya Stakes divisions for freshman pacers (Races 2 and 6), and two divisions of the Eternal Camnation for two-year-old pacing fillies (Races 4 and 9).

Magic Punk (PP2, Dunn, 7-5) won his third straight race with a three-move victory in the first William Wellwood Memorial elimination in 1:54.4 on Aug. 15 and will meet fellow elimination winner Ardonne (PP6, Zeron, 2-1), who got up to win by a head in an identical time. For more information on the eliminations, click here.

Bingo Night (PP2, Tyler Jones, 5-2) headlines the Peaceful Way after winning a prep event for the race that was held on Aug. 15 in the absence of eliminations. She is four-for-five lifetime with a pair of OSS Gold leg wins and a career best of 1:53.4 to her credit. The unbeaten One Belle (PP9, James MacDonald, 9-5) will have to overcome the draw to maintain her unblemished record, but the filly boasts a pair of dominant scores in the Pure Ivory series and a 1:54.4 mark. Calyx (PP5, McClure, 8-1) kicked home in :26.4 in the Peaceful Way prep to finish second in her best outing to date, and she is trending upwards into the final.

Local star Ervin Hanover (PP7, Roy, 5-2) has won two straight Preferreds in sub-1:49 miles and rides that wave of good form into the first Canadian Pacing Derby elimination. He will meet the Dan Patch Stakes winner Sabonis (PP6, Dunn, 9-5), the supplemental entry who hasn’t missed the board in his past six starts, William R. Haughton Memorial division winner Oakwood Ardan Ir (PP2, Jordan Stratton, 6-1), and Funtime Bayama (PP8, MacDonald, 10-1), coming off a much-improved winning effort at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

The second elimination is packed with stakes winners, including Captain Luke (PP2, Jason Bartlett, 6-1), winner of a Sam McKee Memorial division, Maximus Miki (PP3, Zeron, 8-1), who took his Haughton Memorial split, Dave Brower Memorial division victor Coach Stefanos (PP4, MacDonald, 3-1), and Borgata Series leg winner Coaches Corner (PP8, Roy, 9-2), along with Grand Circuit mainstays Bythemissal (PP6, Yannick Gingras, 5-2) and Abuckabett Hanover (PP7, Dunn, 5-1).

All eyes will be on rookie sensation Beau Jangles (PP1, McClure, 1-5) in the first division of the Nassagaweya as the Cattlewash-Mrs Major Hill colt goes for his fifth straight win to start his career. He won the Battle of Waterloo on Aug. 4 and has taken three legs of the OSS Gold series, never hard-used down the lane.  Five opponents will aim to rain on his parade.

Tilthecowscomehome (PP6, Jamieson, 3-1) drew into the second Nassagaweya contest and will finally dodge Beau Jangles, to whom he finished second in his past three starts. Tilthecowscomehome, who won a division of the Tompkins-Geers in his career debut, will be challenged by Dream Maker champion Sweet Lovin Lou (PP3, MacDonald, 6-5), who is perfect in three career outings to date, along with four other rivals.

Dominant Battle of the Belles winner Daya (PP4, Jamieson, 8-5) features in the $100,200 first Eternal Camnation section as she looks to add a fourth victory to her career tally after a fifth-place finish in an OSS Gold on Aug. 14. Naughty Delight (PP5, MacDonald, 9-5) finished third in that mile as she stepped up to the Gold level and will look to beat Daya to the line again.

In the second Eternal Camnation division, Jen Tilly (PP6, Gingras, 9-5) aims to break her maiden after a place finish in the aforementioned Gold. Th Check Me Out (PP2, MacDonald, 5-1) finished third in the Battle of the Belles, and Twin B Fierce (PP5, McNair, 3-1) will try to build on her place finish in the Whenuwishuponastar Final on Aug. 7.

To view the entries for the stakes-filled cards at Woodbine Mohawk Park this weekend, click the following links:

• Woodbine Mohawk Park, Friday, Aug. 22: Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT)
• Woodbine Mohawk Park, Saturday, Aug. 23: Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT)

(Standardbred Canada)