Veteran horseman Per Henriksen celebrated a major milestone Monday evening at Mohawk Racetrack thanks to a win with a well-bred youngster who broke his maiden in style.
Henriksen racked up his 1,000th training win after guiding Bee In Charge – a Manofmanymissions brother to Bee A Magician – to a 1:58 triumph in a $14,000 conditioned event.
Henriksen got away second with the heavily-favoured three-year-old, but he had the trotter on the move in the backstretch. Bee In Charge cleared to the top without a tussle and wound up drawing clear to win by 3-3/4 lengths after trotting his final quarter in :27.
A native of Norway, Henriksen worked for some of the best horsemen in Europe before moving to the U.S. in 1980. He relocated to Norwood, Ont. near Kawartha Downs, in the early 2000s.
Some of Per’s outstanding horses over the years include Hambletonian winner Nuclear Kosmos, Hambletonian Oaks winner Oolong, Breeders Crown winner Southwind Serena and $800,000 winner Clerk Magistrate among many others.
Exemplar captured Monday’s feature race – the $34,000 Preferred Trot – in come-from-behind fashion for driver Sylvain Filion and trainer Richard Moreau.
Filion got away fifth with Exemplar while Charlie Is A Joker and Fearless Man battled to the quarter pole in :26.3. Charlie Is A Joker worked his way to the top, but was quickly overtaken by Fearless Man. The middle panels were set by Fearless Man in :56.2 and 1:25.1, but he couldn’t seal the deal. Exemplar, who was still sixth heading into the final quarter, fired home in :28 and prevailed by a neck over O Narutac Perfetto in 1:54.1. Race favourite Fearless Man was third.
The six-year-old son of Andover Hall-Southwind Serena is owned by Andrea Lea Racingstables Inc of Lakefield Gore, QC and ASA Farm of Norwood, Ont. The 12-time winner pushed his lifetime earnings to $227,893 with the win.
Can I Say and driver Jody Jamieson pulled off a front-stepping shocker in the $24,000 Fillies & Mares Trot. Sent off at odds of 26-1, she fired to the lead from Post 7 and never looked back after doling out splits of :27.1, :56 and 1:24.2. She used a :29.2 closing quarter to win by a length over odds-on favourite Muscle Baby Doll in 1:53.4. Stormont Kate was a hard-closing third.
The seven-year-old daughter of Fourth And One-Emerald Éclair hangs her harness bag in the barn of trainer Jim Whelan, who co-owns the OSS graduate with Terry and Clarence Devos of Langton, Ont. She owns a 2-2-0 record from six starts this season, and she’s banked $23,000 in the process. The 28-time winner pushed her lifetime earnings over $400,000 with the win.
(With files from Kawartha Downs)
To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.
Congratulations Per on your
Congratulations Per on your milestone.