Making his first start in more than a month and debuting for new connections, a streaking G A Speed Expert knocked three seconds off his lifetime mark with an impressive 1:51.4 victory in the opening leg of the Snowshoe Pacing Series on Friday, Jan. 17 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Parked through a :27.2 opening quarter in the first of two $18,000 divisions, G A Speed Expert was in the mix and landed on top for driver Doug McNair after three early speedsters got the front-end shuffle. The 4-5 favourite hit the half in :55.1 and three-quarters in 1:23.2 with his lead continuing to grow, expanding to as much as six lengths in the stretch. While A Class Yankee (Mike Whelan) made late gains off cover, G A Speed Expert prevailed by a measured half length at the end. Betterdealmein (Travis Cullen) completed the top three.
G A Speed Expert ended his debut season in 2024 with wins in half of his 16 races, including his last six starts. The four-year-old son of Sportswriter out of Surprise De Mars now competes from the Dave Menary stable for owner Jennifer Bongiorno of Alpine, New Jersey. He paid $3.90 to win.
The second division ended in a dead heat with the favoured outside starters, Miki Ray and T H Boomtown, hitting the wire together in 1:55.3.
Driven by J Harris, the Grand Circuit stakes-placed Miki Ray crossed to command in his season's debut ahead of the quick-leaving Pendleton Rodeo into a :28.1 opening quarter while T H Boomtown and Bob McClure forged wide from the outside and tucked into third. After middle splits of :58.3 and 1:27.1, T H Boomtown took aim at the leader in the lane and matched strides as they hit the finish line. Lotto Max (Doug McNair) got up for third over Pendleton Rodeo (Brett MacDonald).
Miki Ray, a four-year-old Always B Miki-Victoria Semalu gelding who last raced on Dec. 12 winning in 1:50.3 at The Meadowlands, is owned by trainer Andrew Harris and his New Jersey-based partners William Pollock and Bruce Areman.
Tyler Moore trains T H Boomtown for Stratford, P.E.I. owners Dr. Don Ling and Wayne MacDougall. The four-year-old gelding by Captain Crunch out of Ally Elizabeth is now two-for-two at Mohawk this year.
The 4-5 favoured Miki Ray paid $2.20 to win while T H Boomtown returned $2.70 to his backers at 2-1 odds.
The Snowshoe Series is for three and four-year-old male pacers that were non-winners of two races or $30,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31, 2024. The series continues next Friday, Jan. 24 with the second leg and the $30,000 (added) final will be contested at the end of the month on Friday, Jan. 31.
As part of Mohawk's selection of winter Pop-Up events, a new series began on Friday -- this one for four-year-olds and younger that were non-winners of $20,000 or not averaging $1,500 per start in a minimum of 10 starts in 2024.
In the first of two $12,000 divisions, Steelwheel Hanover was a dominant four-length winner, taking a new lifetime mark of 1:54 for trainer Stephen Charlton and owner Roderick Gillis of Florence, N.S. Doug McNair picked up the live catch-drive on the four-year-old All Bets Off gelding, who returned $6.90 as the 5-2 second choice.
The second division went to the Gravitational, who blasted off the outer wing of the starting gate for driver Billy Davis Jr. then orbited around 2-5 favourite Why Wouldnt Ya and Doug McNair when that rival landed on top soon after. Once Gravitational reclaimed control, he took off by four lengths for a 1:54.3 career-best victory. Trained by Tim Myers for owner Boris Laus of South Woodslee, Ont., the four-year-old Heston Blue Chip gelding paid $15.10 to win as the 6-1 third choice.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Standardbred Canada)