The second edition of the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup has attracted 15 of the sport's top four-year-old pacers that will face off in a pair of $35,000 eliminations on Sunday, May 14 at Flamboro Downs. The $260,000 estimated final will be contested the following Sunday, May 21.
Formerly known as the Confederation Cup, Flamboro Downs' signature race for four-year-old pacers was renamed last year in honour of the track's co-founder and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer who passed away in February 2022.
The inaugural edition of the Juravinski Memorial Cup last May was a race for the history books when Linedrive Hanover blazed to a 1:49 victory to become Canada's fastest pacer on a half-mile track for driver James MacDonald and trainer Anthony Beaton.
World champion Bythemissal headlines this year's entries and has drawn post seven in the second elimination field of eight for $300-million-man Ron Burke. The multiple Grand Circuit stakes-winning son of Downbytheseaside is coming off a million-dollar sophomore campaign that included victories in the Little Brown Jug, Adios, Monument Circle and Carl Milstein Memorial, where he set a 1:48.4 world record over Northfield Park's half-mile oval. A 16-time winner, Bythemissal has never missed the board in 19 starts for owners Burke Racing Stable, Eric Good, Rich Lombardo Racing and Weaver Bruscemi. He prepped for the Juravinski with a 1:50.3 walkover in the New Jersey Breeders Maturity on April 29 at The Meadowlands.
His competition will include Ontario star Cold Creek Queso, who has drawn post two for trainer Murray Brethour and Cold Creek Standardbred of Grafton, Ont. The Betterthancheddar gelding earned Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots and Super Final titles in his first two seasons before kicking off his four-year-old campaign this spring with a sweep of the Ontario Graduate Series at Woodbine Mohawk Park. A 10-time winner with more than $350,000 in the bank, Cold Creek Queso sports a life mark of 1:48.3 taken at Mohawk.
The first elimintion field of seven features Ontario Graduate Series runner-up Camara Moment, who will have to overcame an outside post position to make the final for trainer Richard Moreau. With $121,675 banked already this year, the Control The Moment gelding is the top money-earning four-year-old male pacer in North America with a record reading 7-3-1 from 13 starts. Winner of the Valedictory and Snowshoe series this past winter, he will be looking to add a Grand Circuit title to his growing resume that includes a total of 12 wins and $187,885 in earnings.
Other elimination entries include Messenger Stakes champion Pleaseletmeknow; Simcoe Stakes winner and Jug runner-up Fourever Boy; and Birthday, who finished second to stablemate Bythemissal in the Monument Circle.
The complete fields for the eliminations are listed below.
Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup - Elimination 1 (Race 5)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Birthday - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
2. Dreamfair Arnie B - Travis Cullen - Jodie Cullen
3. Frozen Hanover - Louis-Philippe Roy - Luc Blais
4. Mind Hunter - Doug McNair - Per Engblom
5. Fourever Boy - Dexter Dunn - Tim Twaddle
6. Layton Hanover - James MacDonald - Travis Alexander
7. Camara Moment - Doug McNair - Richard Moreau
Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup - Elimination 2 (Race 7)
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer
1. Trendy Teen - Doug McNair - Per Engblom
2. Cold Creek Queso - Sylvain Filion - Murray Brethour
3. Pleaseletmeknow - James MacDonald - Travis Alexander
4. Ron - Phil Hudon - James 'Friday' Dean
5. Kolby Two Step - James MacDonald - Tim Gillespie
6. Roll With The Flow - Bob McClure - Blake MacIntosh
7. Bythemissal - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
8. Energetic Hanover - Doug McNair - Tony Alagna
Post time on Sunday is 6:55 p.m.
To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Flamboro Downs.