The six-year-old Captaintreacherous stallion Warrawee Vital added his name to a slim group of Standardbreds who breached the 1:47 barrier with a mile to match the all-age Canadian record in the opening race – a $40,000 Preferred Pace – on Pepsi North America Cup night (June 17) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Driver Trevor Henry hustled the Kyle Fellows trainee to the fore from post five to snap a :25.3 first quarter with Woodmere Stealdeal settling into the pocket. The torch of an opener had Warrawee Vital swelling with speed and he motored unchallenged to a :53 half and to three-quarters in 1:20.1. Warrawee Vital only charged faster down the lane while drawing farther clear of his peers to register a 7-1/2-length win and stop the clock in 1:46.4. American History pushed first over through the final turn to take second with Codename Cigar Box third and Roll With The Flow finishing fourth.
With his victory, Warrawee Vital became only the third horse in Canadian harness racing history to pace a sub-1:47 mile. Dr J Hanover became the first when he set the record of aged pacing geldings in June of 2017 and Bulldog Hanover became the second – and the only to pace a sub-1:47 mile twice – when he set the record for aged pacing stallions in Sept. 2022. Warrawee Vital’s time matches Bulldog Hanover’s two-time record.
Now a 22-time winner from 61 outings, Warrawee Vital has accrued $669,861 in earnings for owners Blair Corbeil, Yolanda Fellows and M&S Racing Stable Inc. He paid $4.30 to win.
In the $42,000 Free For All Trot, Fashion Frenzie exacted revenge on Logan Park with a front-stepping 1:52 effort.
Fashion Frenzie fired for the front and eventually cleared command from Logan Park to a :26.4 first quarter while Patriarch Hanover took back to race third. The field sat single file through a :56 half while driver Louis-Philippe Roy snagged another breather to three-quarters in 1:25.1. Logan Park began creeping from the pocket spinning into the stretch, but Roy gave Fashion Frenzie his cue and the five-year-old Archangel gelding straightened and strode strongly for home. Fashion Frenzie held Logan Park at bay by 1-1/2 lengths with Perfetto powering from the back for third and Locatelli taking fourth.
Richard Moreau trains Fashion Frenzie, a winner of 19 from 30 starts and $985,931 for owners Ecurie Francis Richard Inc., Mario Bourgea, Pierre Guillemette and Sylvain Richard. He paid $3.40 to win.
The 2023 Pepsi North America Cup featured a stacked undercard with a number of stakes and open class events. Recaps of the evening's other stakes are available below:
- Its My Show Wins 40th Pepsi North America Cup
- Sylvia Hanover Stomps Foes In Fan Hanover
- Records In Roses Are Red For Grace Hill
- Southwind Coors Claims Goodtimes In Tight Finish
- Abuckabett Hanover Wins Mohawk Gold Cup
- Stockade Seelster Sizzles In NA Cup Consolation
- Refined Upsets Bella Bellini In Armbro Flight
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.