See You At Peelers pushed her undefeated win streak to 17 with an open length victory on Saturday’s undercard at Mohawk Racetrack, featuring eliminations for the Fan Hanover and Goodtimes Trot
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Fresh off a victory against the boys in the Art Rooney on June 4, three-year-old pacer See You At Peelers returned to face her filly rivals in the first of three $35,000 Fan Hanover eliminations.
With Brian Sears in the bike, 1-9 favourite See You At Peelers made a backstretch brush from third to take over command from Idyllic (Dave Miller) after the :27-second opening quarter. She proceeded to the half in :54.1 and three-quarters in 1:23.1 while Idyllic pulled the pocket around the final turn. But it was all See You At Peelers in the first Fan Hanover elimination as she kicked home to score by three lengths in 1:50.3. Idyllic finished second with Live Inspired (Montrell Teague) third and Honky Tonk Woman (Jody Jamieson) fourth.
The Bettors Delight-West Side Story miss, four-for-four this season, is now perfect in 17 career starts with $898,853 banked for trainer Jimmy Takter and owners Christina Takter of East Windsor, New Jersey and John and Jim Fielding of Toronto, Ont.
The victory was See You At Peeler's first in Canada and Sears says she took to the track just fine.
"She seemed to handle it really well, scoring down she was fine," said Sears. "My main concern was just getting out of the gate on the right foot. With the timer on the gate now it's a little different situation, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. But she was fine."
Miss New Jersey winner Krispy Apple, who is near perfect in her seven-race career, is now five-for-five as a sophomore after winning the second Fan Hanover elimination.
With the inside advantage, 9-2 second choice Pretty Katherine (Brett Miller) took command off the gate and had things her own way through early fractions of :27.4 and :56.3. But at that point, Tim Tetrick sent 1-5 favourite Krispy Apple first up from fourth and stalked the leader past three-quarters in 1:24. The Western Ideal-Apple Krisp filly laid on the pressure as they turned for home and wore down the ‘Pretty’ leading lady to score in 1:51 by one length. Pretty Katherine held on for second while pocket-sitter Monkey On My Wheel (Rick Zeron) finished third and Shyaway (Scott Zeron) was fourth.
"She's figuring it out," said Tetrick of Krispy Apple, who made only two starts as a two-year-old finishing second in her Matron elimination and winning the final. "She's learning how to race and letting me drive her. She's very versatile. The first couple of starts I drove her she was pretty warm and wanted to do what she wanted to do, but they rigged her up and she's really turned around in the last three, four starts."
Tetrick said the filly's strongest trait is her high speed.
"She's got quick speed," he noted. "When you put her in the harness she can really fly for a piece."
Krispy Apple paid $2.70 to win. Mark Kesmodel trains and co-owns the bay filly with Jeffrey Bamond of Brick and Joseph Davino of Clarksburg, New Jersey.
Whats New Pussycat upset the applecart at odds of 18-1 in the third and final Fan Hanover elimination with a late stretch rush.
Strike An Attitude (Randy Waples), the 4-5 favourite in the field, made a quarter pole move and took over command by the three-eighths mark ahead of Swinging Beauty (Doug McNair), who laid down the :28.2 first quarter. She cruised to the half in :58 and three-quarters in 1:26.3 before coming under attack in the stretch. The backfield began to close in on Strike An Attitude and emerging quickest of them all was Whats New Pussycat and Dave Miller on the far outside. The Art Major-Molly Can Do It filly, who sat third at the rail after Strike An Attitude took command, came charging home to score the upset in 1:54.3. Athenas Legacy (Jody Jamieson) and Camille (Jason Brewer) came on for second and third while Strike An Attrtude had to settle for fourth.
"It was a bit of a surprise to me," admitted Miller in the winner's circle. "I got away close there and when Randy retook I figured I'd just try to drop along in and keep up to make the final, but by the last turn they were getting to the lead horse. The top of the stretch I had a lot of go so I had to work our way to the outside there, but she got there.
"She was nice," he continued. "She kind of struggles a bit in the turns here, which the slow fractions helped her out tonight. She was able to keep up. But she's got a big kick when she gets straightened away and gets herself situated up. She raced real well and next week I'm sure they won't be at three-quarters in 1:26 so that might be a little tough, but she'll put in a good effort."
Whats New Pussycat returned $39.70 to her backers. She notched her second win in five seasonal starts and lifted her earnings to $52,084 for trainer Nick Surick and owners JL Benson Stables Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and KDM Stables Corp. of Farmingdale, New York. At two, the International Stallion Stakes runner-up won two of seven starts and banked $56,425.
Blue Porsche, Canada’s Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of 2010, didn’t disappoint in his first stakes outing of his three-year-old year, kicking off the $30,000 Goodtimes Trot eliminations with a 1:55.1 score.
Sim Brown (Randy Waples) was stretched out past the :28.4 opening quarter in the first of three eliminations, eventually clearing ahead of Mr Joe Sixpack (Jody Jamieson). His lead was short lived though as Trevor Ritchie had Blue Porsche rolling to the top. Last year’s Valley Victory champion carved out middle splits of :58.1 and 1:26.2, opening up a couple lengths on the field. As he turned for home drifting off the rail, Sim Brown began to close in on the inside, but Blue Porsche managed to hold him at bay for the one length victory in 1:55.1. Sim Brown was second with Mr Joe Sixpack third and Ice Machine (Dave Miller) fourth.
"The program read like there wasn't any big speed in there so I thought I would just let him kind of roll nice and relaxed and hopefully be clear to the front without a whole lot of struggle," said Ritchie, explaining his early tactics. "He's a pretty nice horse to drive. You can do anything you want and once he gets to the front he relaxes pretty good for you."
When asked if he considered pulling the ear plugs when Sim Brown started to come on in the stretch, Ritchie said, "No, I really wasn't thinking about the plugs coming through the lane. He was getting a little bit funky going on me so I was just trying to be careful with him. So I just wanted to get him through the lane on the trot."
The 1-5 favourite paid $2.60 to win for the second consecutive time this year.
"Whenever you come into a final off a win you're pretty happy and he's won his first two so I've got to be pretty pleased with the way he's going," Ritchie concluded.
The winner of five races in nine starts and $405,661 at two is trained by Blair Burgess for owners Robert Burgess of Campbellville, Karin Olsson Burgess of Milton and the Blue Porsche Stable of Campbellville, Ont.
Favourite Vc Chocoholic was also victorious in the second Goodtimes elimination after rallying home off cover.
Longshot and eventual third place finisher Highland Thunder (Rick Zeron) played the role of pacesetter in the second elimination, carving out fractions of :28.1, :57.1 and 1:26, but could not withstand the pressure from a pair of late closers. While Whiskey Tax (Randy Waples) was roused to the outside from third and applied pressure near the third quarter mark, Vc Chocoholic, with Brian Sears in the bike, and Soulful Delight (Tim Tetrick) rallied wide off cover. Vc Chocoholic edged out Soulful Delight by a head to score in 1:55.3. Highland Thunder was followed by Whiskey Tax under the wire in fourth.
"I just asked him for every little bit that he had there late," said Sears after the victory. "I couldn't have tripped out any better, but we just needed every inch of it. He's a big gangly going colt and I think he's just going to get better, but he had to work at it a bit tonight."
Vc Chocoholic paid $4.20 to win for the third time in four seasonal starts. The son of Chocolatier-Miss Madisyn Rose is trained by Trond Smedshammer for Purple Haze Stables LLC of Fairport, New York. Despite never winning a race in five starts at two, Vc Chocoholic banked over $70,000 with two seconds and two third place efforts.
Imperial Count produced a 23-1 shocker in the final elimination as heavy favourite Daylon Magician (Jack Moiseyev) made a costly break in stride behind the gate.
Onirique (Luc Ouellette) set sail for the early lead from Post 6 putting up a :28.1 opening quarter, but driver Scott Zeron sent Imperial Count to the top from third down the backstretch. The Angus Hall-Miss Imperial colt, trained by Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman, carved out the remaining panels of :58.1 and 1:26.4 en route to victory in 1:55.3 by three-quarters of a length. Tamarind (Sylvain Filion) rallied off cover to finish second over Onirique while pocket-sitter Haulin Laser (James Mulinix) was fourth.
With Daylon Magician making a break behind the gate, Zeron noted that he changed his strategy early on.
"Absolutely, I think everybody was trying to shape the race around what that horse was going to do," he said. "Everyone kind of thought that they were maybe second best to that horse so when that horse made a break it did change everything. I felt I had the best horse in the race after he ran and that's why I left to the front.
"Once I got to the front she felt really comfortable, and the half popped up in :58 and I knew I'd have lots of horse coming for home."
Imperial Count paid $49.60 for the upset. He picked up his first win in four seasonal starts for Australian owner Neven Botica. The winner of three races in 10 starts last year while racing in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, banked $209,160 for his frosh efforts.
In regular racing action, Alexie Mattosie and driver Paul MacDonell pulled off a 15-1 upset in capturing this week's $45,000 Open Pace in 1:49.3. The five-year-old No Pan Intended-Dame Crombie gelding advanced first up from fifth at the half and struck the front down the stretch. He held off a quick-closing Mach Dreamer (Rick Zeron) by a neck to score. Ideal Race (Jody Jamieson) was third.
Trainer Donald Lindsey co-owns the winner of six races in 14 seasonal starts with Paul Kleinpaste of Orangeville, Dennis Mavrin of Woodbridge, Ont. and William Alempijevic of Portland, Oregon.
Kindly Poet, the 3-1 second choice, rallied three-wide past three-quarters and kicked home to prevail in the $28,000 Preferred 2 Pace in 1:50.3 by half a length with Rick Zeron in the bike for trainer Murray Brethour. Favourite Ok Boromir (Doug McNair) came on for second and pacesetter Whippet Good (Jason Brewer) was third.
The eight-year-old son of Western Ideal-Stonebridge Elite, who has won four of his 17 starts this year, is owned by Brethour, Donald Varcoe of Stayner and Daniel Sarafianthe of Stouffville, Ont. along with the Scarff Legacy Stables of Halifax, N.S.
Here is a look at the field for the $601,000 Fan Hanover, scheduled for next Saturday night:
1. Camille
2. Krispy Apple
3. Whats New Pussycat
4. See You At Peelers
5. Shyaway
6. Athenas Legacy
7. Monkey On My Wheel
8. Pretty Katherine
9. Live Inspired
10. Idyllic
AE. Honky Tonk Woman
Here is a look at the field for the $347,000 Goodtimes Trot, also slated for next Saturday night:
1. Highland Thunder
2. Imperial Count
3. Blue Porsche
4. Vc Chocoholic
5. Mr Joe Sixpack
6. Onirique
7. Soulful Delight
8. Ice Machine
9. Sim Brown
10. Tamarind
AE. Haulin Laser
For recaps of tonight's eliminations for the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup, click here.
For results from Saturday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.