Dr. Ian Moore has every reason to appear or sound stressed, frazzled, or agitated. And that's not because his stable star Beau Jangles suffered his first loss last Saturday (June 6) in the 2026 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations. It's because he has a lot on his plate into addition to preparing for a million-dollar stakes race.

On Tuesday, Moore had to leave the 2026 Pepsi North America Cup Post Position Draw due to a previous commitment. Then on Wednesday, after taking care of his stable, he made his way to Grand River Raceway to serve as the AGCO veterinarian for the night's card of harness racing.

It was here that Trot Insider caught up with the Hall of Famer to discuss Beau Jangles, his elimination performance and the week ahead.

And even here, knowing that he had a busy night in store, with Beau Jangles arguably approaching the biggest test of his career, there was a sense of understanding, a sense of calm, and a presence.

"We try to put [Beau Jangles] in a position to be at his best, a position to win," stated Moore. "We control everything we can control and manage, and then hopefully the variables, which we got affected by last Saturday, all fall into place for him."

Focus on the things you can control and not the things you can't. And here's what Moore can control: his horse.

"It was disappointing, that's for sure," said Moore when asked about the third-place finish. "We all knew it would happen at some point in time, because of all the variables in racing that we cannot control. The horse came out of it fine, he's real good. I'm going to train him [Thursday] a little bit. We lucked out, I guess you'd have to say...I think the five hole is going to be good for us on Saturday night and we're looking forward to it."

The confidence Moore exudes is not unwarranted. Oddsmakers at Woodbine Mohawk Park installed Beau Jangles as the 7-5 morning line choice in the $1 G1 Pepsi North America Cup on Saturday, June 13. With regular pilot Bob McClure at the controls, the son of Cattlewash - Mrs Major Hill with 15 wins in 16 starts and more than $1.8 million in earnings leaves from post five for owners Graham Grace Stables LLC of Clifton, Va., Kiwi Stables LLC of La Plata, Md. and Bolton Stables of Clermont, Fl. To his inside, both elimination winners: post three starter Odds On Mr Mamba (9-5) and post four starter Sweet Lovin Lou (7-2).

"Not many people had seen [Odds On Mr Mamba]. He's a small guy, but he's got lots of go to him. That was interesting that James [MacDonald] picked him to drive over Dan Lagace's colt, who raced really well, also. The two horses that beat Beau (Odds On Mr Mamba and Brandon Blvd) are worthy animals, that's for sure. No shame in losing to them."

To watch the full interview with Dr. Moore, click the play button below.

The complete field is listed below in post position order.

$1 million G1 Pepsi North America Cup - Race 11 (10:45 p.m. ET)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. ​Melillo - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke​ - 15-1
2. ​Redland Rocket Man - Louis-Philippe Roy - John Pentland - 25-1
3. ​​Odds On Mr Mamba - James MacDonald - Melanie Wrenn - 9-5
4. ​Sweet Lovin Lou - Scott Zeron - Dan Lagace - 9-2
5. ​Beau Jangles - Bob McClure - Dr. Ian Moore - 7-5
6. ​Lindy Dragonwater - Jason Bartlett - Ron Burke - 25-1
7. Azrael Blue Chip - Andrew McCarthy - Besim Odza - 20-1
8. Al Papi - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke - 20-1
9. ​​No Waitlist - Doug McNair - Blake MacIntosh - 25-1
10. ​Brandon Blvd - Dexter Dunn - Andrew Harris - 8-1

The lucrative undercard will include the Grade 1 filly companion stakes, the $420,000 Fan Hanover Stakes, along with the $320,000 Roses Are Red Stakes (Grade 1) for older pacing mares, $240,000 Goodtimes Stakes (Grade 2) for three-year-old trotting colts, $215,000 Armbro Flight Stakes (Grade 2) for older trotting mares, the $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational, and a $65,000 Free-For-All Trot. Those stakes fields and Saturday's complete entries are available by clicking one of the following links: Woodbine Mohawk Park — Saturday Entries || Saturday Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).

(Standardbred Canada)