The super card that is the Pepsi North America Cup on June 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Milton, Ont., will start to take shape this weekend with several stakes elimination races.
Eliminations will be contested Friday for the Goodtimes Stakes and Saturday for the Fan Hanover Stakes and Roses Are Red.
Only the Armbro Flight for older trotting mares did not require eliminations this weekend.
Here’s a breakdown of this weekend’s action:
Fillies to battle in Fan Hanover eliminations
The Fan Hanover Stakes for three-year-old fillies will offer a pair of intriguing eliminations on Saturday evening.
A group of 15 sophomore pacing fillies were entered, splitting into two $35,000 eliminations. The top-five finishers from each elimination will advance to the $401,000 final on the Pepsi North America Cup card.
The first elimination is stacked with stars, as Treacherous Dragon, Prohibition Legal, Boudoir Hanover and Sea Silk will all line up in a field of seven. The second elimination includes Dont Fence Me In, Lyons Serenity, Wickedly Innocent and Silver Label.
The Fan Hanover eliminations are carded as Races 2 and 3 on Saturday.
The full fields for the eliminations are listed below:
Fan Hanover – Elimination #1 – Race 2
1. Smuggle Tina (David Miller-Per Engblom)
2. Girl In A Tavern (Louis-Philippe Roy-Teesha Symes)
3. Cheryls Shadow (Jonathan Drury-Carmen Auciello)
4. Treacherous Dragon (Tim Tetrick-Brett Pelling)
5. Prohibition Legal (James MacDonald-Nick Gallucci)
6. Boudoir Hanover (Todd McCarthy-Tony Alagna)
7. Sea Silk (Chris Page-Ron Burke)
Fan Hanover – Elimination #2 – Race 3
1. Love That Smile (Louis-Philippe Roy-Rene Bourassa)
2. Dont Fence Me In (Scott Zeron-Tony Alagna)
3. I Love Ongait (Doug McNair-Dr. Ian Moore)
4. Lyons Serenity (Tim Tetrick-Jim King Jr.)
5. Queen Of Success (Andrew McCarthy-Tony Alagna)
6. Wickedly Innocent (Todd McCarthy-Brett Pelling)
7. Silver Label (James MacDonald-Nick Gallucci)
8. Free To Be Me (Dexter Dunn-Brian Lee)
Older mares to clash in Roses Are Red eliminations
The Roses Are Red for older pacing mares will also have eliminations contested Saturday evening.
A total of 15 older mares were entered for the Roses Are Red and they will battle in two $35,000 eliminations to determine the field for the $315,000 final. The top-five finishers from each split advance to the final on June 18.
United States horse of the year Test Of Faith will make her Canadian debut in the first Roses Are Red elimination. The first split also includes local star So Much More, who is approaching $1-million in career earnings.
Defending champion Lyons Sentinel will make her return to Mohawk in the second elimination. The winner of $2.1-million will have to deal with the likes of Racine Bell, Fire Start Hanover, Karma Seelster and Gias Surreal.
The Roses Are Red eliminations are carded as Race 6 and 7 on Saturday.
The full fields for the eliminations are listed below:
Roses Are Red – Elimination #1 – Race 6
1. Test Of Faith (David Miller-Brett Pelling)
2. Settn A Precedent (Sylvain Filion-Jonathan Panos)
3. Amazing Dream N (Todd McCarthy-Linda Toscano)
4. Kickupyaheels N (Sylvain Filion-Carmen Auciello)
5. Awesome Hill (Trevor Henry-Chantal Mitchell)
6. So Much More (James MacDonald-Don Beatson)
7. Dabarndawgswatchin (Jody Jamieson-Dave Menary)
Roses Are Red – Elimination #2 – Race 7
1. Racine Bell (Brian Sears-David Dewhurst)
2. Lit De Rose (Sylvain Filion-Richard Moreau)
3. Fire Start Hanover (Dexter Dunn-Richard Norman)
4. Watch Me Now N (Dexter Dunn-Tony Alagna)
5. Lyons Sentinel (Tim Tetrick-Jim King Jr.)
6. Karma Seelster (Doug McNair-Gregg McNair)
7. Kobes Gigi (TBA-Melissa Essig)
8. Gias Surreal (Bob McClure-Don Lindsey)
No eliminations needed for Armbro Flight
The Armbro Flight Stakes for older trotting mares attracted 10 entrants and will go directly to the final on June 18.
This year’s edition includes the past three winners of the race: Atlanta (2019), Hey Livvy (2020) and When Dovescry (2021).
The field for the Ambro Flight is completed by Amazone Duharas, Bella Bellini, Herculisa, HP Mama B, Next Level Stuff, Royalty Deal and Weslynn Quest.
Goodtimes eliminations set for Friday
The Goodtimes Stakes for three-year-old trotters will see a pair of $30,000 eliminations contested on Friday evening.
A total of 20 horses entered, leaving two 10-horse divisions for Friday. The top-five finishers from each will advance to the $251,000 final, which will be raced on the Pepsi North America Cup card.
The first elimination includes 2022 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winners Esplosione and Duly Resolved, New Jersey Sires Stakes final winner Pretender and Valley Victory Stakes winner Fast As The Wind.
Ontario Sires Stakes Super final champion Twin B Archie headlines the second elimination.
The Goodtimes eliminations are carded as Race 5 and 7 on Friday.
The full fields for the eliminations are listed below:
Goodtimes – Elimination #1 – Race 5
1. Pretender (Yannick Gingras-Nancy Takter)
2. Senna (Dexter Dunn-Per Engblom)
3. Esplosione (Jody Jamieson-Meg Crone)
4. Duly Resolved (Paul MacDonell-John Bax)
5. Fast As The Wind (Dexter Dunn-Tony Alagna)
6. Archery Seelster (Louis-Philippe Roy-Marcel Barrieau)
7. Delgado (Scott Young-Bob Young)
8. Safe Conduct (Chris Christoforou-Camilla Christoforou)
9. Southwind Domino (Louis-Philippe Roy-Desiree Jones)
10. R Royal Port (Sylvain Filion-Ben Baillargeon)
Goodtimes – Elimination #2 – Race 7
1. Gigondas (Dexter Dunn-Tony Alagna)
2. Looks Like Moni (Andrew McCarthy-Nancy Takter)
3. Take Command (Tyler Jones-Dustin Jones)
4. World At War Deo (Jody Jamieson-Dave Menary)
5. Drinks At Home (Bob McClure-Luc Blais)
6. Chulo (Yannick Gingras-Per Engblom)
7. Twin B Archie (James MacDonald-Scott McEneny)
8. Royal Leaf (George Ketros-George Ketros)
9. Mercutio (Trevor Henry-Shane Weber)
10. Testing Testing (David Miller-George Ducharme)
To view the entries for the cards of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click one of the following links:
Friday Entries || Saturday Entries
(Woodbine Mohawk Park)