A handful of racehorses have got off to a quick start in 2022, racking up wins, earnings and speed badges.
Trot Insider takes a look at some of the top ranked Standardbreds in Canada and their on-track achievements through the first quarter of the year.
Vines To Heaven has been one of the hottest horses of 2022, boasting eight victories to top the leaderboard while Linedrive Hanover, Pure Addition, Stonebridge Drama and Uptown Hanover are hot on her heels tied in second-place with seven wins each.
Claiming mare Vines To Heaven earned her eight wins across three stables, most recently streaking to six in a row at Rideau Carleton Raceway for trainer Michael Armstrong and owner Andrea Rennison. The seven-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven mare has been a model of consistency, finishing no worse than second through her 10 starts this year.
Linedrive Hanover is perfect in seven starts at Woodbine Mohawk Park to kick off his comeback season. Among his wins, the four-year-old Betting Line gelding claimed the Snowshoe Pacing Series title for trainer Anthony Beaton and owners West Wins Stable, McKinlay & Fielding, and Mac Nichol.
Six-year-old pacing mare Pure Addition started her season with a seven-race win streak at Century Mile while bouncing back and forth between the Trevor Williams and Chris Lancaster stables. The daughter of Riverboat King has made 10 starts so far this season and now races from the Brent Bodor barn for owner Aurel Vodon.
Stonebridge Drama, a seven-year-old daughter of Camluck with 14 starts on the season, has been racking up her victories at Flamboro Downs and The Raceway at Western Fair District since being claimed early in the year by trainer/owner Jared Mann.
Uptown Hanover, a four-year-old Somebeachsomewhere mare owned by trainer Kelly Hoerdt and Carole Dunbar, is seven-for-eight with one runner-up finish competing against the best mares in Western Canada. Among her triumphs, she's picked up a pair of stakes titles, winning the rescheduled Century Casinos Filly Pace and the Penny Bath Memorial.
In the earnings category, Earl Hill Jr. and Stephen Klunowski's five-year-old pacing gelding Uhtred leads the way with $118,520 already banked in purses so far this year while racing from the Carmen Auciello stable. Competing mostly against Preferred company at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the son of Art Major has earned four wins and has picked up cheques in the rest of his dozen starts this season. Canada's defending Older Pacing Horse of the Year, Wheels On Fire currently ranks second with $109,720 in earnings and former O'Brien Award winner Jimmy Freight has also reached the six-figure earnings mark with $100,720 stashed away to start their respective seven-year-old campaigns for trainer Richard Moreau.
Another Auciello trainee has sped out of the gate this season... literally. Owned by Aaron Waxman and Frank Cirillo, Points North holds the Canadian season's record having paced the first sub-1:50 mile in the nation this year on Saturday night (April 2) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, clocked in 1:49.3. Five-year-old gelding Outlaw C My Shadow paced the fastest mile on a five-eighths track, winning in 1:50.4 on March 27 at Fraser Downs for trainer Connie Kolthammer while Pat McGarry A, a six-year-old gelding conditioned by J.R. Plante, raced to a season's record 1:53.3 on a half-mile track when winning on March 3 at Flamboro Downs.
Owned by Alan Leavitt and trained by Bob McIntosh, six-year-old gelding Oney Hall's 1:52.4 victory in the Preferred on March 21 at Woodbine Mohawk Park stands as the fastest trotting mile this season in Canada. The Magic Of Life, a six-year-old gelding trained by Robert Robinson, holds the season's record for a five-eighths track courtesy of his 1:56.2 victory in the Preferred last night (April 3) over Rideau Carleton Raceway. The fastest half-milers are nine-year-old gelding Esquire, with his 1:56.4 tour of the The Raceway at Western Fair District in Preferred action on March 4 for trainer Mark Goddard, and the Dean Nixon-trained 11-year-old gelding O Narutac Perfetto, who matched that time last night at Flamboro Downs.
**All statistics include Canadian starts from January 1, 2022 up to the first Monday in April.
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