Nix Nacken upset in the Canadian Trotting Classic, and odds-on favourite Nuance captured the Elegantimage Stakes to give trainer Marcus Melander a Grade 1 stakes double on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Nix Nacken overpowered his stablemate, Hambletonian champion Apex, in the closing strides of a 1:51.1 mile to snatch victory in the $590,000 Canadian Trotting Classic final for trotting sophomores.

Magic Punk (Yannick Gingras) pushed up the rim to take the lead from Strobe Lite (James MacDonald) to a :27 first quarter while Apex (Dexter Dunn) settled into fourth out of post three. Apex bided his time entering the backstretch before committing to loop for the lead, and once he grabbed command past a :55.3 half, Nix Nacken tipped off the pylons from sixth for Scott Zeron and charged uncovered towards the front. Nix Nacken reached Apex’s neck at three-quarters in 1:23.3 but struggled to pass that rival as he held his ground for home. Apex resisted until Nix Nacken overhauled him in the final 1/16th of a mile to slide home a half-length winner. Strobe Lite swung off a pylon trip to take third.

“He's avoided the front the majority of his year, and unfortunately, he's been first up a lot, so he's really, really good at it at this point,” said Zeron, who won his first Canadian Trotting Classic. “But that was a really Herculean effort he put forth. 

"About 50 feet before the wire. I was like, ‘I think I'm going to get him’ because before that, it was a tough battle in the turn to even make up the ground I did, coming first up from sixth back there. So it was just an amazing effort by my horse.”

Melander, winning for the second time in the Canadian Trotting Classic after taking the 2019 edition with Green Manalishi S, trains Nix Nacken for owner Courant Inc. of Delray Beach, Fla. The Muscle Hill-Nixie Volo gelding, scoring his first graded stakes win of the year, collected his fourth win from 14 starts this season and his seventh victory from 25 starts in his career, upping his bankroll to $905,896.

"He's always been a nice horse, but he got his manners,” Melander said, “and that's why he's a gelding, obviously. And you know, when he wakes up on the right side, he definitely has the speed and strength to go with these ones. So yeah, he's a nice, nice horse."

“It's mixed feelings,” Melander also said on training both Nix Nacken and runner-up Apex. “You know what I mean? Like Apex is 3-5 out there. He’s obviously been the better horse, and is probably the better horse. But he got beat fair and square today. Hopefully, he can bounce back next week in the Kentucky Futurity."

Nix Nacken, who is also bound for the Kentucky Futurity at The Red Mile next Saturday, Oct. 3, paid $26.20 to win. 

Nuance sprung to the lead from fast fractions and skipped away to a stakes-record 1:51.1 victory in the $400,000 Elegantimage final for three-year-old trotting fillies.

Storybook Love (Todd Ratchford) and Cher Hill (Doug McNair) dashed from wide draws for the front to a :26.3 first quarter while James MacDonald landed into seventh with Nuance. A shuffle for the lead ensued to a :54.4 half once Kngtstlkrs Games (Louis-Philippe Roy) pounced out of fourth, with Leading Lady (Jason Bartlett) in tow while Sharp Seven (Jody Jamieson) and Nuance also tipped outside and advanced steadily up the rim to the last turn.

Leading Lady brushed by Kngtstlkrs Games and stretched her rivals to three-quarters in 1:22, putting Nuance uncovered with Sharp Seven ducking to the pylons. Kngtstlkrs Games jumped off stride spinning for home while Leading Lady reached desperately for the finish with the backfield swarming forward late. Nuance and Busy Miss Lissy S (Dexter Dunn), who was parked the mile out of post 10, soared down the centre of the track approaching the final eighth, but Busy Miss Lissy S rolled off stride. Leading Lady gave way as Nuance motored up and kicked clear for a 2-1/2-length win going away with Storybook Love rallying from a ground-saving trip to snag second. Sharp Seven settled for third.

“It was just one of those races where I had to leave a bit to get away bad,” said James MacDonald, who won for the first time in the Elegantimage. “All the speed was on the outside. I thought they would mix it up early, and I just wanted to get in the flow, but I got away a little worse than I'd hoped. I knew I had a good horse, and they were speeding up front, so I was just hoping we had enough late kick to get there.

"Initially Dex[ter Dunn]'s horse [Busy Miss Lissy S] was going by, and then she just got a little rough. So I was driving to be second, and then sometimes you're in the right spot at the right time. Tonight was our night, and we got lucky.”

Melander, also winning for the first time in the Elegantimage, trains Nuance for Courant Inc. The filly by Greenshoe-Hillarmbro collected her third win from 11 starts this season after going winless in her first eight tries and also scored her fifth victory from 21 starts in her career, bringing her earnings to $404,668. Her 1:51.1 victory, a lifetime best, also bested the previous stakes record of 1:51.3 set in 2023 by Bond.

“She's been a big filly and we're taking our time with her,” assistant trainer Mattias Melander said after the race. “She's been a little immature. But, you know, I didn't do a great job with her in the beginning of the year, so we had to do some changes, and now she's blooming out. 

"We had to change some rigging on her and whenever we did that, that's when she started going good again.”

Nuance returned $3.70 to win.

With her place finish, Storybook Love ascended to millionaire status. The 2025 Breeders Crown champion and O'Brien Award winner hit the board for the ninth time in 14 starts this season following a show finish in her elimination, a second in her New York Sire Stakes final and a victory in the Grade 3 Simcoe Stakes. The Matt Bax-trained daughter of Chapter Seven-Stirling Debutante is five-for-26 lifetime with $1,059,446 in earnings for Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont. and Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.

To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(With files from Woodbine; photo of Nix Nacken winning on Sept. 26)