It’s less than two months and counting for Mohawk Racetrack to host its marquee event – the Pepsi North America Cup – and colts are busy tightening the screws in their quest to win the million dollar event.
If You Want Fire, who is listed at 55-1 in Trot Magazine’s Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, was fourth and race-timed in 1:55.2 in the first qualifier of the morning session. The Casie Coleman pupil fired home in :27.2 for driver David Miller.
A trio of ‘Cup’ preppers faced the gate in Qualifier 7 including Paparazzi Hanover (60-1), Oneisalonelynumber (60-1) and Derby Dale (100-1).
Paparazzi Hanover rallied to finish a lapped-on second to Major War, who stopped the teletimer in 1:55.1. Paparazzi Hanover’s closing quarter of :27 was good enough to land him in the runner-up spot for trainer Jim Campbell. Oneisalonelynumber, from the barn of trainer Casie Coleman, tagged along to finish third while pacing his own mile in 1:55.4. Derby Dale laid down fractions of :29, :58.4 and 1:27.2 before being out-sprinted and settling for a fifth-place finish. He was raced timed in 1:56 for trainer Ron Burke.
PASS sensation, Yankee Bounty (18-1), finished in the runner-up spot in his first qualifier of the season. The Ron Burke pupil kicked home in :28.1 in Qualifier 9 while pacing his own mile in 1:55.2. He went 8-for-10 in his rookie year while stashing away more than $320,000 in the process.
Sicily (35-1), who banked over $90,000 in his rookie year for former trainer Nikolas Drennan, came up just a nose short in his first qualifier of the season for new trainer Ron Burke. The colt fired home in :28.3 to miss by a whisker. He paced his own mile in 1:55.3.
One of last year’s outstanding freshman trotting colts, Habitat, was also in action this morning at Harrah’s Philadelphia for trainer Ron Burke. Yannick Gingras had the O’Brien Award-winning son of Conway Hall-Habits Best set up shop on the lead and successfully sliced out fractions of :30.3, 1:00 and 1:28.2 before using a :28.1 closing quarter to win by 2-1/4 lengths in 1:56.3.
Burke Racing Stable LLC, Our Horse Cents Stables and Weaver Bruscemi LLC share ownership on the youngster who assembled a 7-2-2 record from 13 assignments during last year’s freshman campaign. He earned a speed badge of 1:53.4 at The Red Mile while banking more than $560,000 along the way.
Gural Hanover, who went 10-for-14 last season, was a 1:55.3 winner in his first charted line of 2015 for trainer Ron Burke. The four-year-old son of Crazed-Givemearing led his trotting foes through fractions of :29.2, :59 and 1:27.3 before sprinting home in :28 for driver Yannick Gingras. The gelding has banked more than $420,000 to date.