Breeders Crown Elims Complete

Harness racing’s top three-year-olds and older horses gathered at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday night to compete in the elimination round for the prestigious Breeders Crown championships and broke some long standing speed records in the process

. Trot Insider has provided updates on all action below.

Kentucky Filly Futurity winner Cedar Dove put forth a 1:53.2 track record performance in the first of two $25,407 Breeders Crown eliminations for three-year-old trotting fillies.

Jezzy (Tim Tetrick) worked her way to the top from Post 8 during a :27.4 opening quarter panel with Oh Sweet Baby (Mario Baillargeon) in the pocket and the Ron Pierce-driven Cedar Dover sitting third, but ready to move.

Pierce sent Cedar Dove to command before the :57.3 half and the filly proceeded to three-quarters in 1:25.2 with Lady Andover (John Campbell) advancing first up from fourth and eventual breaker Seducedbychocolate (Paul MacDonell) and Crys Dream (Luc Ouellette) following her cover.

Cedar Dove turned for home with a four length lead on her foes and could not be caught as she sprinted under the wire in 1:53.2. Jezzy followed two and three-quarter lengths behind for second with Lady Andover finishing third. Crys Dream and Oh Sweet Baby rounded out the top five finishers and will also advance to the final.

The time of the mile shaved one-fifth of a second off the track record for sophomore trotting fillies, set by Housethatruthbuilt in 2004.

“It was very easy,” said Pierce in the winner's circle. “I just floated her out of there; she did it on her own. She was getting a little impatient in the three-hole so down the [backstretch] when we straightened out I tipped her out and she charged to the front. From there it was just a question of keeping her relaxed and getting around there safely.”

The daughter of Andover Hall-Pine For Her, a winner of five races in 14 starts this year, is trained by Noel Daley for owner John Fielding of Toronto and the Adam Victor & Son Stable of New York.

The favourite paid $4.20 to win.

Iron Lady converted a perfect pocket trip into a narrow victory over the popular Hey Mister giving driver Ron Pierce a sweep of the three-year-old trotting filly eliminations.

Magic Wheel (Joe Hudon Jr.) fired to the lead from the center of the track and landed the lead ahead of Iron Lady. She reached the opening quarter in :28-seconds, followed by the half in :58.2.

Meanwhile, Lady Rainbow (Scott Zeron) moved underway from fourth and moved up alongside the leader. As Hudon pulled the ear plugs on Magic Wheel, Lady Rainbow jumped it off.

Magic Wheel raced to three-quarters in 1:26.4 with a new first over attacker looming in Hey Mister (Brian Sears).

As the fillies headed down the stretch, Hey Mister took over command, but a pylon-skimming Iron Lady got up in time to score the 1:55.4 victory by a head. Hey Mister settled for second with Cleopatre Duharas (Yannick Gingras) closing well for third. Eagle Canada (Doug McNair) finished fourth after gapping her cover and Pantholops (Dave Miller) recovered from an early break off the gate to finish fifth.

"I was a little concerned there if we were going to get out and shake loose, but when that horse couldn't keep up with mine I saw that we were in good shape," said Pierce in the winner's circle.

"We put the UFO bike on her tonight," noted the reinsman, who was unhappy with the change. "Very few horses don't take to it, but she's one of the ones that really felt much better in her regular bike that we used in Lexington there a couple of weeks ago, so I'm going to mention that they might to go back to the old bike."

Fredrik Persson trains the daughter of Taurus Dream-Ita Di Jesolo, a winner of seven races in 15 starts including the American National, for Reve Avec Moi Dreamwithme of Grand Valley, Ont. and New York's Jerry and Theresa Silva.

She paid $6.40 to win.

The connections of Cedar Dove and Iron Lady earned the right to pick their post positions for the $500,000 final. Here is a look at the field in post position order with elimination drivers listed:

Post Position - Horse - Trainer - Driver
1 - Lady Andover - Chris Beaver - John Campbell
2 - Iron Lady - Fredrik Persson - Ron Pierce
3 - Eagle Canada - Gregg McNair - Doug McNair
4 - Cedar Dove - Noel Daley - Ron Pierce
5 - Oh Sweet Baby - Ben Baillargeon - Mario Baillargeon
6 - Hey Mister - Tony O’Sullivan - Brian Sears
7 - Jezzy - Ray Schnittker - Tim Tetrick
8 - Crys Dream - Fredrik Persson - Luc Ouellette
9 - Cleopatre Duharas - Eric Cote - Yannick Gingras
10 - Pantholops - Jonas Czernyson - Dave Miller
AE1 - Miss Sue V - Paul Kelley - Dave Palone
AE2 - Martiniontherocks - R. Dustin Jones - Sylvain Filion

Chapter Seven exploded late in the stretch and swept past the duelling supplemental entries, Daylon Magician and Dejarmbro, to win the first of two $25,407 Breeders Crown eliminations for three-year-old trotting colts.

Dejarmbro (Brian Sears) established the lead ahead of Chapter Seven and driver Tim Tetrick and led the way past opening panels of :28 and :57.3 before coming under attack.

Daylon Magician (Jack Moiseyev) advanced first over from fourth down the backstretch and went head-to-head with the pacesetter before the final turn. The pair hit the 1:26.1 three-quarters mark together and continued to battle down the lane.

Daylon Magician began to inch ahead down the stretch, but Chapter Seven was loaded with late pace and came charging up on the outside to prevail in 1:53.2. Daylon Magician finished second and Dejarmbro was third. Spectator K (Dave Miller) and For You Almostfree (Jody Jamieson) finished fourth and fifth to earn spots in the final.

"There's one thing I always know is he's never out of steam at the end of the mile," said trainer Linda Toscano following the victory. "His lungs and his finishes have always been his best attribute. Even when he wasn't 100 per cent he could always do that so I knew that if we were in contention he'd give it a good finish."

Chapter Seven entered the race fresh off a victory in his Bluegrass Series division at Lexington's The Red Mile. The son of Windsongs Legacy-La Riviera Lindy, now three-for-seven this year, is owned by Richard Gutnick and Gary Cocco of Pennsylvania, New Jersey's Southwind Farm, and Jerry Silva of New York.

He paid $3.70 to win as the 4-5 favourite.

Fresh off winning the Kentucky Futurity in three heats, defending Breeders Crown champion Manofmanymissions swept to the front down the backstetch and cruised to victory in the second elimination for three-year-old trotting colts.

Big Rigs (Dave Palone) crossed down to the pylons from Post 8 to establish the early lead during the :27.2 opening quarter. As he led the way into the backstretch, driver Dave Miller sent Manofmanymissions first over from fifth and the Yankee Glide-Armbro Vanquish colt swept to command with authority.

Manofmanymissions struck the front just past the :57.2 half-mile marker and led the way to three-quarters in 1:25.1. With Big Rigs rolling offstride and into the safety lane at the top of the stretch, Manofmanymissions was left in the clear. He cruised to a three length victory in 1:54 flat.

Mr Web Page (Mario Baillargeon) finished second off a three-hole trip with Luckycharm Hanover (Tim Tetrick) following in third. Can Anyone Explain (Jody Jamieson) finished fourth and Broad Bahn (George Brennan) recovered from an early break behind the gate to get fifth.

“Especially off of those fractions, [Dave Miller] made the right move,” said trainer Erv Miller of his colt's backstretch brush. “That was the right move at the time.”

Manofmanymissions has won nine of his 14 starts this year for the Manofmanymissions Stable of Kentucky, Mystical Marker Farms LLC of Indiana and M Biasuzzi Stable Inc. of Florida.

He paid $3 to win.

The connections of Chapter Seven and Manofmanymissions earned the right to pick their post positions for the $610,000 final. Here is a look at the field in post position order with elimination drivers listed:

Post Position - Horse - Trainer - Driver
1 - Spectator K - Charlie Norris - David Miller
2 - Luckycharm Hanover - Tony O’Sullivan - Tim Tetrick
3 - Can Anyone Explain - Blair Burgess - Jody Jamieson
4 - Chapter Seven - Linda Toscano - Tim Tetrick
5 - Manofmanymissions - Erv Miller - Dave Miller
6 - For You Almost Free - Blair Burgess - Jody Jamieson
7 - Broad Bahn - Noel Daley - George Brennan
8 - Daylon Magician - Dave Lemon - Jack Moiseyev
9 - Mr Web Page - Ben Baillargeon - Mario Baillargeon
10 - Dejarmbro - Trond Smedshammer - Brian Sears

Drop The Ball established a new track and Canadian record with a dazzling 1:49 score in the first of two $25,407 Breeders Crown eliminations for three-year-old pacing fillies.

Monkey On My Wheel (Jody Jamieson) was the early leader off the gate but driver Dave Miller had Idyllic on the move from pocket into the first turn and cleared at the :27-second opening quarter mark.

As the fillies approached the half in :55.1, driver Yannick Gingras sent Drop The Ball to the top from fourth.

Drop The Ball powered past three-quarters in 1:22 and opened up three and a quarter lengths in the stretch en route to the career-best 1:49 triumph. Monkey On My Wheel finished second with Swinging Beauty (Doug McNair) closing well for third. Idyllic finished fourth and Strike An Attitude (Dave Palone) advanced first over after the winner cleared to grab fifth.

The time of the mile shaved two-fifths of a second off Rainbow Blue's track and Canadian record, established in 2004, and the mark was just one-fifth of a second off the World Record, held by Dancinwiththestarz and Strike An Attitude.

“She’s extremely fast and we’re lucky enough that she’s been given to us for a few weeks to race in the Breeders Crown,” said trainer Tony O’Sullivan. “[Driver Yannick Gingras] said she was a little aggressive, but once he moved her, she was very good.”

O'Sullivan trains the daughter of Western Terror-Mattcheck Girl, a winner of four races in 11 seasonal starts including the Mistletoe Shalee and her Bluegrass Series division, for Florida's Let It Ride Stables Inc., Dana Parham, and the Robert Cooper Stables LLC.

Drop The Ball paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favourite.

Rocklamation reeled in Krispy Apple down the stretch to score a mild 5-1 upset victory in the second elimination for three-year-old pacing fillies.

Foxy Lady (Yannick Gingras) fired off the gate from Post 6 and put up a sizzling :26.1 opening quarter while Rocklamation and driver Brian Sears trailed the seven-horse field.

The 6-5 favourite, See You At Peelers (Marcus Johansson), began to edge out from fourth around the first turn, committed first over down the backstretch and surged to command past the :54.4 half-mile marker.

Meanwhile, Krispy Apple (Tim Tetrick) launched her attack from fifth with Tea Party Princess (Jim Morrill Jr.) and Rocklamation following her cover.

Krispy Apple moved up alongside the leader as they neared three-quarters in 1:23.2 and took over down the stretch. She opened up four lengths on the field as See You At Peelers began to fade. However, Rocklamation unleashed a ferocious late kick and roared home in :26.3 to nab the victory in a career-best 1:50.4. Krispy Apple settled for runner-up honours, one and a half lengths behind. Foxy Lady, Tea Party Princess and Honky Tonk Woman (Jody Jamieson) earned the final spots in next week's championship.

After the win, Mickey Burke, Jr., assistant trainer of Rocklamation, said Rocklamation is not an aggressive filly and he thought winning was questionable until, “she came flying and I said she’s going to be second, and then, oh my gosh, she is going to win this thing and I was thrilled with her. She’s starting to act like the filly we thought she was going to be.”

The daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Art Sale is trained by Ron Burke for Stable 45 of Florida. The win was her fourth in 18 starts this year.

Rocklamation paid $13.80 to win.

The connections of Drop The Ball and Rocklamation chose their post positions for the $500,000 final. Here is a look at the post draw for the field with elimination drivers listed:

Post Position - Horse - Trainer - Driver
1 - Foxy Lady - Ron Burke - Yannick Gingras
2 - Drop The Ball - Tony O’Sullivan - Yannick Gingras
3 - Rocklamation - Ron Burke - Brian Sears
4 - Krispy Apple - Mark Kesmodel - Tim Tetrick
5 - Honky Tonk Woman - Tony O’Sullivan - Jody Jamieson
6 - Monkey On My Wheel - Travis Umphrey - Jody Jamieson
7 - Swinging Beauty - Gregg McNair - Doug McNair
8 - Strike An Attitude - Bob McIntosh - Dave Palone
9 - Tea Party Princess - Dave Menary - Jim Morrill Jr.
10 - Idyllic - Casie Coleman - Dave Miller
AE1 - New Album - Mark Kesmodel - Tim Tetrick

Westwardho Hanover held off favourites Alsace Hanover and Roll With Joe for another mild 5-1 upset for the Burke barn in the first of two $25,407 Breeders Crown eliminations for three-year-old pacing colts.

Custard The Dragon (Montrell Teague) fired off a speedy :26.1 opening quarter with Westwardho Hanover and driver Dave Palone in the pocket and the parked out Roll With Joe (Ron Pierce) advancing after an outside Post 8 start.

Roll With Joe finally cleared at the :53.4 half-mile marker, but would not get a breather as Westwardho Hanover was flushed first up and rolled right by 'Joe' into the final turn.

Westwardho Hanover reached three-quarters in 1:21.4 with Mystician (Jody Jamieson) left uncovered on the outside.

As he turned for home, Roll With Joe inched up the rail and Mystician took it to the leader on the outside. Meanwhile, early trailer Alsace Hanover (Scott Zeron) came flying home on the far outside off cover. But Westwardho Hanover reached the wire just in time for his first sub-1:50 victory, timed in 1:49.4. Alsace Hanover was second with Roll With Joe edging out Mystician for third. Odysseus Bluechip (Mario Baillargeon) finished fifth.

“The knock all along was that he was a bit of an underachiever,” said Palone following the victory. “He’s gotten better each week for Ronnie. I’m kind of excited about him.

“I’d made up my mind I was going to try to race this horse either on the lead or a tough first-over. I think he likes the work, you just have to get it out of him. He did make me work, but he’s made a step forward each week and I look forward to him being even better next week.”

The son of Dragon Again-Western Duel recorded his third win in 13 starts this year for trainer Ron Burke and the Westward Ho Stable of Pennsylvania.

Westwardho Hanover paid $13.90 to win.

The Canadian-owned and trained Betterthancheddar converted from the pocket for a 6-1 mild upset in the second Breeders Crown elimination for three-year-old pacing colts.

Driver George Brennan fired Betterthancheddar to the lead from Post 5 and posted a :26.4 opening quarter, but gave way to the pocket-pulling Hugadragon (Yannick Gingras) down the backstretch.

Hugadragon raced past middle stations of :55.2 and 1:22.1 while first over attacker Wink N Atcha (Montrell Teague) broke stride.

Down the stretch, Betterthancheddar moved off the rail and wore down Hugadragon for the career-best 1:49.1 victory. Little Brown Jug winner Big Bad John (Dave Miller) rallied home from the backfield to show. Up The Credit was fourth and Fashion Delight (Tim Tetrick) finished fifth.

"I like him better off a helmet, but he can always rock it off the gate," said trainer Casie Coleman after the win. "I just always thought he was better chasing horses, but Georgey decided to do what he did, Yannick covered us back up and it was a perfect trip."

The son of Bettors Delight-Lady Ashlee Ann is owned by Steve Calhoun of Chatham, Ont. and the West Wins Stable of Cambridge, Ont. The win was his seventh in 15 seasonal starts.

Following a disappointing and puzzling 10th place finish in the Meadowlands Pace earlier this season, Betterthancheddar has bounced back to top form following some time off. He won the Cane Pace and placed in the Little Brown Jug since.

"After the Meadowlands Pace, this horse... I really don't know what happened," explained Coleman. "His blood was clean, he was sound, he scoped clean and he was horrible in the Meadowlands Pace. I took him home. I took him to Darlene Hayes' farm and she did an unbelievable job with him. She only had him about 10 days and she somehow put about 150 pounds on this horse in 10 days and his attitude is back, he's sound, he's healthy, he's read to rock and roll right now.

"With 'Cheddar' less is better. After the Jug I did the same thing. I brought him home and I shipped him right to the farm again and gave him about another 10 days off. The less work you give him the sharper he is. He loves coming off a bit of a layoff. I won't do a whole lot of work with him this week. And we get to pick our post position for the final so I'm pretty happy about that. Hopefully we'll have some luck."

Betterthancheddar paid $14.60 to win.

The post draw for the $500,000 final will be conducted on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Here is a look at the field in alphabetical order with elimination drivers listed:

Horse - Trainer - Driver
Alsace Hanover - Tony O’Sullivan - Scott Zeron
Big Bad John - Ron Potter - Dave Miller
Betterthancheddar - Casie Coleman - George Brennan
Fashion Delight - Jim Campbell - Tom Tetrick
Hugadragon - Ron Burke - Yannick Gingras
Mystician - Jeff Gillis - Jody Jamieson
Odysseus Bluechip - Ben Baillargeon - Mario Baillargeon
Roll With Joe - Ed Hart - Ron Pierce
Up The Credit - Carl Jamieson - Jody Jamieson
Westwardho Hanover - Ron Burke - Dave Palone
AE1. Prodigal Seelster - David Menary - Scott Zeron

Millionairess Anndrovette made her winning move in the backstretch to capture the lone $40,652 Breeders Crown elimination for aged pacing mares.

Rock N Soul (Yannick Gingras) lefty alertly from Post 9 and crossed down to the pylons to establish the early lead during a speedy :26.1 opening quarter. Her lead was short-lived though, as driver Tim Tetrick fired Anndrovette to the top from fourth.

Anndrovette carved out middle splits of :55.2 and 1:23.1 en route to the two and a half length triumph in 1:50.2. Maureen Rocks (Scott Zeron) advanced first over for second with On The Glass (Jody Jamieson) following from second over. Also advancing to the final are Western Silk (George Brennan), Blissful Smile (Jack Moiseyev), Rock N Soul, Chancey Lady (Dave Palone), and Ginger And Fred (Brian Sears).

The top eight finishers in the elimination will advance to the final, along with Laughandbehappy and Ticket To Rock, who received byes.

"I really didn't have a game plan," commented Tetrick after the win. "I just wanted to try and give her a nice race and have her ready for next week, but there were three of four of them really speeding out of there so I just settled her in and when they slowed it down I let her move. I think she likes that -- being up there by herself and setting her own fractions. She's big and strong and it didn't really matter what the fractions were, she gets home pretty decent. She can go forever. She doesn't seem to get tired."

Anndrovette is trained by Mark Kesmodel for owners Jeffrey Bamond and Joseph Davino of New Jersey. The four-year-old daughter of Riverboat King-Easy Miss has won 10 of her 18 starts this year, including the Betsy Ross, Artiscape Pace and A Spring Of Hope Pace.

She paid $4.50 to win.

The connections of Anndrovette picked Post 5 for the $300,000 final. Here is a look at the field is post position order with elimination drivers listed:

Post Position - Horse - Trainer - Driver
1 - Maureen Rocks - Tony O’Sullivan - Scott Zeron
2 - Ginger And Fred - Ron Burke - Brian Sears
3 - Chancey Lady - Mark Kesmodel - Dave Palone
4 - Western Silk - Casie Coleman - George Brennan
5 - Anndrovette - Mark Kesmodel - Tim Tetrick
6 - On The Glass - Tony O’Sullivan - Jody Jamieson
7 - Ticket To Rock - Tony O’Sullivan - TBA
8 - Rock N Soul - Ron Burke - Yannick Gingras
9 - Blissful Smile - Tony O’Sullivan - Jack Moiseyev
10 - Laughandbehappy - Tony O’Sullivan - TBA

No eliminations were required for the aged pacing horses, however, some of the entries prepped for the final in Saturday's $50,000 Open Pace.

Breeders Crown hopeful Foiled Again and driver Yannick Gingras won the Open in 1:49.2. St Elmo Hero (Tim Tetrick) finished second with Breeders Crown entries Aracache Hanover (Doug McNair), Bettor Sweet (John Campbell) and We Will See (Ron Pierce), following in third, fourth and fifth.

The Ron Burke-trained Foiled Again moved first over after Aracache Hanover led the field past the :26 opening quarter and half-mile point in :54.3. He was in second place when they hit three-quarters in 1:22.3 and pulled away through the stretch to win by one and three-quarter lengths.

Other Breeders Crown Open pacers in the race were Mach Dreamer (seventh) and Alexie Mattosie (ninth).

Foiled Again paid $4.30 to win. The seven-year-old son of Dragon Again-In A Safe Place, winner of this year's Bobby Quillen Memorial Pace, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Pennsylvania, and the JJK Stables LLC of Florida.

All 11 horses entered in the Breeders Crown Open Pace will advance to the final. Here is a look at the field in post position order:

Post Position - Horse - Driver – Trainer
1 - We Will See – R. Pierce - S. De Pinto
2 - Foiled Again – Y. Gingras - R. Burke
3 - Alexie Mattosie – J. Jamieson - D. Lindsey
4 - Mach Dreamer – M. MacDonald - M. Brethour
5 - Bettor Sweet – J. Campbell - T. Cancelliere
6 - Clear Vision – G. Brennan - R. Burke
7 - Dial Or Nodial – D. Miller - J. Campbell
8 - One More Laugh – T. Tetrick - R. Schnittker
9 - Atochia – B. Sears - R. Burke
10 - Bigtime Ball – P. MacDonell - G. Irwin
11 - Aracache Hanover – D. McNair - G. McNair

No eliminations were required for the aged trotting mares. All 11 entries will advance to the final. Here is a look at the field in post position order:

Post Position - Horse - Driver – Trainer
1 - Kandor Hanover - R. Waples - J. Burns
2 - Yursa Hanover - J. Campbell - J. Czernyson
3 - Emmylou Who - L. MacArthur - L. MacArthur
4 - Lavec Dream - L. Ouellette - P. Kleinhans
5 - Pembroke Heat Wave - D. McNair - G. McNair
6 - Action Broadway - M. MacDonald - V. Morgan
7 - Friendly Amigo - TBA - B. Burgess
8 - Jersey AS - G. Brennan - A. Lorentzon
9 - Autumn Escapade - D. Miller - J. Czernyson
10 - Frenchfrysnvinegar - J. Jamieson - J. Gillis (supplement)
11 - Miss Dangles - S. Zeron - R. Zeron

No eliminations were required for the aged trotting horses. All seven entries will advance to the final. The post draw will take place on Tuesday, October 25. Here is a look at the field listed alphabetically:

Horse - Driver – Trainer
Arch Madness - B. Sears - T. Smedshammer
Commander Crowe - C. Martens - F. Souloy
Define The World - P. MacDonell - J. Bax
Hot Shot Blue Chip - J. Campbell - J. Czernyson
Lucky Jim - T. Tetrick - E. Miller
Rapide Lebel - E. Raffin - S. Guarato
San Pail - R. Waples - R. Hughes

For recaps and replays of the freshman Breeders Crown eliminations, click here.

The $6 million Breeders Crown championship night will take place next Saturday, Oct. 29 at Woodbine Racetrack.

To view Saturday’s harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.

(With files from HRC and the Hambletonian Society)