Eliminations for the $4.8 million Breeders Crown Championships continued Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack with three-year-olds in the spotlight
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Fresh off an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final victory, favourite Elusive Desire and Paul MacDonell captured the first of two $25,745 Breeders Crown eliminations for sophomore trotting fillies in front-stepping fashion.
MacDonell hustled the Angus Hall-Valley Amber miss to the front of the field from Post 5 in a :26.3 sizzling opener and then led the way past fractions of :56.2 and 1:26.1. In the stretch, Elusive Desire kicked away by four lengths to secure the 1:55.1 victory.
Broadway Schooner (Brian Sears) rallied from second-over to finish over two-lengths behind in second with Dont Wear Pjs (Mike Lachance) third. Sirenuse (John Campbell) and Raising Rachel (Jack Moiseyev) earned the remaining cheques.
"I don't map anything out, when she's good she's good and she likes this track," trainer Mike Keeling commented on the front-end trip. "Paul [MacDonell] seems pretty content but I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet."
The winner of 10 races in 16 starts this season and over $585,000 is owned by P C Wellwood Enterprises Inc. of Cambridge, Charles Armstrong of Brampton and Robert Fasken of Oakville, Ont.
"I think she is as good as she's been all year," said Keeling. "We didn't have to race her a lot since Hambo Day, we didn't go to Kentucky and we could just protect her here at home."
In regards to Elusive Desire's training schedule, Keeling said, "She does little, she just hates jogging so we do little with her. She takes care of herself."
Scoring her 13th lifetime win tonight, Elusive Desire inched closer the $1 million mark. She has earned over $971,000 so far in her two seasons on track.
Bluegrass winner Margarita Momma also delivered on her pari-mutuel promise with an off-the-pace score in the second elim for driver Ron Pierce.
Seaside (Dave Miller) established early command and put up a :27.2 first quarter while Friendly Amigo (Bruce Richardson) filled the two-hole and Margarita Momma (Ron Pierce) dropped in third.
Yursa Hanover (Tim Tetrick) launched a first-over bid during the second interval from fourth and moved up to claim the lead past the :57.1 half-mile mark. As she led the way to the 1:24.4 third quarter, Pierce had Margarite Momma out and rolling and the Yankee Glide-Sheena Hall filly matched strides with the leader in mid-stretch then pulled away by over two lengths for the win in 1:54.1.
Longshot The Ice Queen (Jim Morrill, Jr.) came on for second forcing Yursa Hanover to settle for third. Ok To Play (Daniel Dube) finished fourth and Windsong Soprano (Steve Condren) was fifth.
Trainer Jan Johnson of Lighthouse Point, Florida co-owns the winner with Jorgen Jahre, Jr. of Sandefjord, Norway.
“She raced really good, beat some good fillies out there,” said Pierce following the race. “Jan [Johnson] made some changes for the track and they seemed to help her a lot, he had her just right.
“It's a big mile for a night like tonight. On a nice humid night I think that's a mile in 52 and a piece. This filly has always been tough, she was as tough at two as anything I've sat behind. You have to give Jan a lot of credit for her conditioning.”
Margarita Momma has won half of her 10 starts this season earning over $326,000. The bay filly now sports 11 wins on her lifetime record and boasts over $562,000 in winnings.
The top five finishers from each elim advance to the final next Saturday, October 24 with the connections of elim winners earning the chance to select their charge's post position.
Here is a look at the field for the $600,000 Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Trot in order of post position:
1. Margarita Momma
2. The Ice Queen
3. Yursa Hanover
4. Elusive Desire
5. Raising Rachel
6. Sirenuse
7. Broadway Schooner
8. Seaside
9. Windsong Soprano
10. Dont Wear Pjs
With only 12 entered in the box for the Three-Year-Old Colt Pace, only one $25,745 elimination was necessary. Well Said and Vintage Master each earned byes as the top divisional money-earners of 2009. The top eight finishers in the tonight’s elim will complete the field for next Saturday’s final.
Mr Wiggles and Corey Callahan converted from the pocket in the stretch and exploded with a late kick to post a 9-1 upset in the lone elim for the sophomore pacing colts.
Callahan shot the Badlands Hanover-Wiggle Hanover colt off the wings from Post 6 and claimed the early lead in a :26.2 first quarter, but yielded to a pocket pulling Bay Of Sharks (Mario Baillargeon) shortly after. The new leader carved out the remaining fractions of :54.4 and 1:23.2, but couldn’t hold off Mr Wiggles in the stretch. The Brenda Teague trainee was full of pace and zipped away to a two-length victory in 1:50.2.
The race for second was close with three pacers spread across the track. Bay Of Sharks held on for second at the rail with Carnivore (Jody Jamieson) third in the centre and favourite If I Can Dream (Tim Tetrick) fourth on the outside.
"9-1 was a good price, I thought," commented Callahan, who admitted he was surprised at the odds. "My horse has a lot of good gate speed...I planned on cutting it, but Mario [Baillageon] did that work for me. Luckily I could sneak out there in the lane. He's gritty and strong on the front, but he's good if he can follow a helmet for a while."
"I think it made a lot of difference not going to Lexington, didn't have to butt heads with Well Said, Vintage Master, Dial Or Nodial down there, it kept him fresher," Callahan continued.
"His form is holding up very well, scoring down I was very impressed. He usually takes a while to get going but today he felt strong as soon as he got out there."
Owned by Elmer Fannin of Lincoln and George Teague, Jr. Inc. of Harrington, Delaware, Mr Wiggles notched his eighth win of the season in 18 starts bumping his bankroll to over $795,000. The Hoosier Cup winner has won 13 races lifetime banking nearly $850,000.
Dial Or Nodial (Brian Sears), Vertical Horizon (Jim Morrill, Jr.), Annieswesterncard (Ron Pierce) and Keep It Real (Steve Condren) also advanced to the final.
The Three-Year-Old Colt Pace and Trot (eliminations not necessary) draws will take place at a press conference hosted by Warren Moon, member Pro Football Hall of Fame & Canadian Football Hall of Fame, on Tuesday, October 20 at Woodbine.
With only eight entered in the box for the Three-Year-Old Filly Pace, including Yellow Diamond and Shacked Up, who were supplemented for a fee of $62,500, eliminations were not necessary.
Here is a look at the field for the $710,000 Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Pace in order of post position with drivers listed:
1. Kabbalah Karen B - Mark Macdonald
2. Yellow Diamond - Jim Morrill, Jr.
3. West of L A - Ron Pierce
4. Special Sweetheart - Dave Miller
5. Shanghai Lil - Mike Lachance
6. Shacked Up - Tim Tetrick
7. Ginger And Fred - Dave Palone
8. Blogette Hanover - Randy Waples
In a pair of Opens featured on Friday’s undercard, fan favourites Bigtime Ball and Art Official each delivered top notch performances for their connections.
Fresh off a win in last week’s $50,000 top pace, millionaire Bigtime Ball, with regular reinsman Paul MacDonell back in the bike, floated to command at the half and glided home effortlessly to win this week’s edition in 1:49.1.
Royal Becquet (Daniel Dube) fired off a swift :25.4 first quarter with Bigtime Ball waiting in third. In the second interval, Ramegade Bruiser (Jody Jamieson) pulled the pocket and landed the lead, but Bigtime Ball was hot on his heels and the son Presidential Ball-Keystone Trinidad took over at the :53.4 half. The Gord Irwin pupil extended his lead to nearly three lengths as he passed three-quarters in 1:21.1 and then used a :28-second final quarter to seal the deal.
Ramegade Bruiser finished two and a quarter lengths behind in second with Silent Swing (Steve Condren) third.
The ulta-consistent five-year-old has recorded 13 wins and five seconds in 20 seasonal starts earning over $446,000.
In a special winner's circle presentation, the Woodbine Entertainment Group congratulated the connections of Bigtime Ball for recently achieving the career milestone of $1 million in purse earnings.
Bigtime Ball actually broke the seven-figure barrier by placing second by a neck to rival Ramegade Bruiser, in an October 3 Open Handicap at Mohawk Racetrack.
Bigtime Ball, a gelded half-brother of the double millionaire mare, Invitro, is owned and trained by Gord Irwin, who bred the horse with Murray Ross. Having lost most of his tail in an accident as a yearling, the burly gelding is immediately identifiable on the racetrack and a crowd favourite. His 26th win tonight pushed his bankroll to $1,051,173.
In the Four-Year-Old Open, Art Official and Ron Pierce laid down a :27.2 opening quarter before settling for a pocket ride behind Riggins (Jim Morrill, Jr.), who led the field to the half in :56.2 and three-quarters in 1:24.4. With Anderlecht (Jody Jamieson) moving to the outside from fourth before the third station, Pierce made his move with Art Official and the son of Art Major-Naughty Shady Lady unleashed a :27-second final quarter to come on for the victory stopping the clock in 1:52 flat.
Anderlecht was the runner-up finishing two and a quarter lengths behind and Riggins rounded out the top three.
Art Official scored his fourth win in 15 tries this year and lifted his earnings to over $360,000 for trainer Joe Seekman and owner Sawgrass Farms LLC of Lockport, Illinois. The winner of 17 races lifetime inched closer to the $2 milllion mark with the win. He has banked $1,967,685 to date.
To view tonight's harness racing results, click here.
For recaps of Friday's freshmen Breeders Crown eliminations, click here.
(With files from WEG)