Haul Away pulled the pocket in the stretch and sailed past favourite Twin B Warrior with a flat tire to capture the $472,500 Upper Canada Cup
for Ontario sired three-year-old pacing colts Saturday at Georgian Downs.
After winning his elimination one week ago, Haul Away returned to the Innisfil oval for the track’s signature race and left from the inside post position with Tim Tetrick at the lines. Fellow elim winner and 4-5 favourite Twin B Warrior (Jody Jamieson) looped the early leader before hitting the first quarter in :27.1 and carved out the remaining fractions of :55.4 and 1:23.4.
Wellthereyougo (David Miller) went first over from third down the backstretch with Adrenaline (Mario Baillargeon) angling wide, but Haul Away pulled the pocket and kicked home in :27.4 to prevail by 1-1/4 length in a career best 1:51.4. Bp Chimo (Sylvain Filion) rounded out the top three. Haul Away paid $7.60 to win as the 5-2 second choice.
“He just came out of his skin at the top of the lane,” said Tetrick in a post-race interview with Chris Roberts. “The connections had him ready and my job was easy tonight. I got away behind the best horse and my horse ended up being the best in the race.
“I knew I had a great shot,” said Tetrick when asked if he knew if Haul Away could track down the leader. “I was a little worried because going to the 5/8ths I had a flat tire. From the top to home I rode on a flat tire and he was still very, very strong. He came out of the hole and did all the work.”
“It’s the biggest race I’ve been in with a shot, and the shot turned into a win,” said trainer David Menary. “Everybody here at Georgian put on a good show and the colt was good. Tim gave him a perfect steer and I’m glad we’re standing here.”
It was a memorable night for the connections, who lost 2009 Upper Canada Cup runner-up and Ontario Sires Stakes star Fast Pay at the start of the year.
“The other guy held a good place in my heart," said David, choking up. "But this colt is off to a good start this year and hopefully it goes right through to November.”
“I’ll tell you, we had a big year last year with Fast Pay and Haul Away this year,” added Larry Menary, who shares ownership with Denis Breton, Phil Silvestri and Joseph Settimi. “It’s a pretty exciting year for us after Fast Pay last year.
"Tim was just amazing here with the trip he gave him and he looked pretty sharp in the post parade. I’ve got to thank Tim a whole lot for the job he did and flying up from New Jersey to drive this colt tonight. Tim sure deserves a lot of credit and my son David for training. David did one heck of a job and his whole stable that works for him did an amazing job. It’s a lot of hard work for everybody. I’m pretty excited about what’s happened here.”
Haul Away, who won six of his 11 starts and banked nearly $300,000 at two, is eligible to the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup on Saturday, June 26 at Mohawk Racetrack.
Tetrick also won the $50,000 UCC consolation with Code Word and the $115,500 Honourable Earl Rowe Memorial Cup with Buck I St Pat. For a full recap of all the undercard action, click here.
To view Saturday's results, click here.