Eliminations for the $585,000 Canadian Breeders Championships, sponsored by Standardbred Canada and Woodbine Entertainment Group, will take place this weekend at Mohawk Racetrack beginning on Friday night with the three-year-old trotters in the spotlight and continuing on Saturday featuring the sophomore pacing divisions.
Elegantimage Stakes runner-up Angies Lucky Star leads the trotting fillies, who will face off in two $23,531 eliminations. The daughter of Angus Hall is the even-money favourite in the morning line and will leave from post seven in the eight-horse field with Sylvain Filion in the sulky for trainer Richard Moreau and Ontario owners Trevor Henry Stables Inc. and the Estate of Daniel J. McCann. Angies Lucky Star enters the race as the richest filly of the bunch so far this season with close to $200,000 banked in purses and is the early divisional leader in the Ontario Sires Stakes standings after finishing second in a Gold Series leg on June 24 at Mohawk and winning her latest on July 3 in a Grand River Raceway track record clocking.
Moreau and Filion also team up in the second elimination with recent Gold Series winner Orderingin starting from post six as the 3-1 second choice. Motown Muscle, a Casual Breeze Stakes and Gold Series winner, is the 2-1 favourite. The Muscle Mass miss drew post one for the Baillargeon brothers and owners/breeders Bet Max Stables Inc. and Benenati Inc.
Also drawing an inside post position in the only $45,390 trotting colt elimination, early favourite Murmur Hanover has been assessed at odds of 5-2 with Randy Waples listed to drive for trainer Norman Bardier Jr. and owner Richard Berthiaume of Quebec. The Majestic Son colt is making just his third seasonal start after a $400,000-plus freshman campaign and will be facing last year's OSS Super Final champion Creampuff Macdaddy, trained by Brad Maxwell, in the 10-horse affair along with a trio of colts from the Per Henriksen stable.
The first of two $24,420 pacing filly eliminations features SBOA Stakes champion Love Canal starting from post seven. The quick-closing daughter of Badlands Hanover, who won last year's OSS Super Final and is fresh off a Gold Series win on July 1 at Mohawk, will be driven by Doug McNair for trainer Tony O'Sullivan and owners Let It Ride Stables Inc., Robert Cooper Stables LLC, and J And T Silva Stables LLC. Trainer Bob McIntosh will look to set his stable up for a repeat in the CBC filly pace as he sends out Pan Luis Obispo, another Gold winner, from post two in the same elimination with Waples listed to drive. The duo, who also sends out Grassroots winner Western Empress in the second filly split, won the 2012 edition with Class Of O Nine.
Hutt Racing Stable's Notalkingback, who has yet to miss the board in stakes action this year, headlines the second pacing filly elimination. The daughter of Royal Mattjesty will leave from post two with Rick Zeron driving for trainer Murray Brethour. Winners in the July 1 Gold Series leg, Best Impressions will leave from post two for trainer Ben Wallace and Jettin Jamie from post 10 for Gregg McNair.
Casie Coleman, trainer of the 2012 CBC colt pace winner Michaels Power, will try to go back-to-back in the division with Enviro Stables' Roar, who is fresh off a Gold Series victory on June 24 at Mohawk. Billy Davis Jr. gets the call to drive the colt in the first $24,825 elimination, but will have to overcome an outside post 10 start. Other Gold leaders, the Nifty Norman-trained Mach It So and Herbert Holland-conditioned Twin B Famous, had better luck in the post draw scoring the fourth and sixth starting spots behind the gate.
Last year's OSS Super Final champion Mach Pride will try to get back to winning form in the second elimination for the glamour boys after failing to hit the board in his first four sophomore starts. Drawing post nine, Mike Saftic will drive the Mach Three colt, who banked over $400,000 as a freshman, for trainer Louie Eftimiadis and Ontario owners Michael Virdiramo, Sheldon Rose, Randy Zhok, and Lou Green.
The top five finishers in each of the trotting filly and pacing eliminations will advance to the finals with the winning connections earning the right to choose their post positions. The top seven finishers in the trotting colt elimination will advance along with Toocool Forschool, Thankyoukessel and Rock Of Cashel, who all received byes.
The stakes event is for foals of 2010 and 2011 that were sired by stallions duly nominated to the Canadian Breeders Championships and are registered with Standardbred Canada or the United States Trotting Association.
Post time for both Friday and Saturday night is 7:25 p.m.
For free, printable program pages for the weekend cards courtesy of TrackIT, click on the following links: Friday / Saturday
