Dark Moves Wins A Pop Up Thriller

Published: December 19, 2022 10:03 pm EST

Four horses were within a length of one another at the finish line in Monday’s $18,000 Pop Up Series final at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and when the numbers were posted on the board it was Dark Moves who came out on top.

In rein to Doug McNair, Dark Moves got away sixth while Titanium N and Hercule J M battled to the quarter pole in :28.3.  Titanium N cleared to the lead and then carved out middle panels of :58 and 1:27.3.  Dark Moves, in the meantime, had swung to the outside and tracked cover until the top of the stretch.

McNair rallied the gelding home in :27.4, and that was good enough to prevail by a half-length margin over Kevndan Fraudsters in 1:56.2.  Titanium N held on for the show dough.    

Sent off as the 2-1 favourite for trainer Robert Doyle, the four-year-old son of Dali-Paris Freeluck improved his seasonal record to 8-6-4 from 46 starts.  Daniel Mead of Rockwood, Ont. owns the pacer who bumped his lifetime earnings to $68,146 with the win.

Earlier on the card in the $9,000 Pop Up Series consolation, it was Mikes Powerhouse who went coast-to-coast in a time of 1:55.3 for the tandem of driver Louis-Philippe Roy and trainer Isaac Waxman.

The 10-year-old son of Camluck-Michelles Jackpot hustled to the lead from Post 6 and sliced out splits of :28.1, :57.3 and 1:26.4 before using a :28.4 closing panel to win by 1-1/2 lengths over Hokie Dokie.  Rye N Clyne took home third prize.

Tess Waxman and Carmelo Scime share ownership on the 28-time winner.

It was another productive night at the office for trainer Richard Moreau, who sent out four winners on the 11-race card.

The nine-time O’Brien Award winner clicked with Itstimetogohome (1:54), Patriarch Hanover (1:54.4), Jim Strikesitrich (1:54.3) and Legal Bettor (1:53).

The four-win performance pushed his yearly win total to 324 while his seasonal purse earnings inched closer to $5.2 million.  Recently surpassing $70 million in lifetime earnings, the Quebec native has sent out 6,706 winners to date.

To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park.

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