"I'm confident in his abilities and that we haven't even seen the best of him yet."
The connections of 21 of the continent's top three-year-old pacers have entered their horses to contest the eliminations for the $1-million Pepsi North America Cup, and the fastest of that group is Vegas Vacation.
A son of former Cup winner Bettors Delight out of Dont You Smile, Vegas Vacation has drawn Post 1 for trainer Casie Coleman and driver Scott Zeron. The brown gelding is three-for-three so far in 2013 and has already recorded two victories in sub-1:50 fashion. He is coming into his NA Cup elim fresh off a stakes-record 1:48.3 mile in his division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes last weekend at Mohawk.
“I'm very pleased with the progression that 'Vegas' has made, not only maturing from two to three, but in each one of his starts this year," the 23-year-old Zeron told WEG's Media Department. "He has natural raw talent and versatility, which makes him a pleasure to drive. Casie has done a great job mapping out 'Vegas's' schedule, to not only help boost his confidence but also to have him as prepared as he could be coming into elims. We drew well and we are going to do our best to win the elim and pick our post.
If there's one race that the 2012 U.S. Harness Writers Association Rising Star Award winner wants to take off his bucket list it's this one, especially after having a solid shot last year with eventual Horse of the Year Michaels Power and finishing sixth in his elim. Ironically, both Vegas Vacation and Michaels Power drew the rail.
"The Cup has been the one race I look forward to every year. Growing up, I've been able to come and watch many of them live, and I know the importance of this race. It's a race that I've only dreamt of winning and now is my chance to make it a reality."
Racing in the third of three elims, Vegas Vacation will line up against a solid group of sophomores, including PASS standout Beach Memories, NJSS runner-up Johny Rock, early season stakes winner Resistance Futile, Metro elim winner Apprentice Hanover, debuting Dovuto Hanover and Odds On Equuleus, looking to improve from his sixth-place seasonal debut last week.
The fields for Saturday's $50,000 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations are as follows:
First elimination: 1. Moonliteonthebeach, 2. Varadero Hanover, 3. Evenin Of Pleasure, 4. See And Ski, 5. Captaintreacherous, 6. Sunshine Beach, 7. Captive Audience
Second elimination: 1. Cougar Hall, 2. Twilight Bonfire, 3. Fool Me Once, 4. Rockin Amadeus, 5. Wake Up Peter, 6. Sweet Talkin Satin, 7. Martini Hanover.
Third elimination: 1. Vegas Vacation, 2. Johny Rock, 3. Dovuto Hanover, 4. Odds On Equuleus, 5. Beach Memories, 6. Apprentice Hanover, 7. Resistance Futile.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Mohawk, please click the following link: Saturday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.
Sportsnet will air the Pepsi North America Cup on The Score. The one-hour broadcast, a joint production of the Woodbine Entertainment Group and Sportsnet, is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. (EDT), with the race set for 9:42 p.m. It will be the first time that a standardbred race will be shot and aired live in high-definition (HD) in Canada.
To view Trot Magazine's 2013 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, click here.