Driver Louis-Philippe Roy swept the Tompkins-Geers Stakes for two-year-old pacers at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday, July 10.
The first Grand Circuit event of the season for two-year-old pacers at the Campbellville, Ont. oval featured one division for fillies and a division for the colts and geldings.
Local reinsman Roy won both, guiding filly Charolais Cattle to an 8-1 victory before steering even-money choice Shalom Hanover to a wire-to-wire score.
Making his career debut, Shalom Hanover turned heads with an impressive 1:50.4 score for Roy and trainer Dr. Ian Moore in the $62,063 Tompkins-Geers for colts and geldings. The son of Papi Rob Hanover left from post six in the field of nine and made the front to a :27.2 opener. After a 29-second breather to the half in :56.2, Shalom Hanover ramped things up for a :27.3 third quarter followed by a :26.4 kicker with Roy sitting chilly to win by 2-1/4 lengths.
Moore, who sent out three in the race, swept the Exacta with second choice Mascarpone (James MacDonald) following throughout for the runner-up spot. Nineleven Hanover (Jody Jamieson) was third.
A $70,423 yearling purchase from the 2025 Standardbred Horse Sale, Shalom Hanover is the 10th foal out of Western Hanover mare Sammys Magic Girl and the colt is a half brother to 2020 and 2021 O’Brien Award winner Scarlett Hanover.
The season debut score earns Shalom Hanover $31,031 for owner Shalom Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ont.
He paid $4 to win.
In the $71,376 Tompkins-Geers for two-year-old pacing fillies, Dave Menary trainee Charolais Cattle went first-up on the far turn and powered by her rivals in the lane to a 1:53 victory.
A daughter of Cattlewash, Charolais Cattle left from post nine in an overflow field of 11, sitting a parked out seventh around the first turn before settling in. The action up front included multiple lead changes in the second split, as favourite Im Sweet On Lou (Doug McNair) was three-wide for a large portion of the backstretch before clearing just after a :55.4 half.
Charolais Cattle got the cue to move at the half and wasn’t finding any cover, as Roy and the rookie grinded first-up to within two lengths of leader Im Sweet On Lou at three-quarters in 1:24.4.
In the stretch, Charolais Cattle kept on motoring to take over the lead and get clear to win by a length and a half. Luc Blais trainees Rockin Jade Deo (Bob McClure) and Beachside Caroline (Tyler Jones) completed the top three. Rockin Jade Deo notably rallied from a third-over, seventh position to finish second.
Owned by Menary Racing of Cambridge, Ont., and Riverview Stable of Belle River, Ont., Charolais Cattle broke her maiden in her third start. She was most recently fifth in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division last week after a runner-up finish on June 25.
Charolais Cattle is the third foal out of Ponder mare Final Decision, who is a full sister to 2012 Pepsi North America Cup winner Thinking Out Loud. The filly was a $55,556 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase.
A $2 win ticket on Charolais Cattle returned $18.90.
The Tompkins-Geers Stakes continue next week with the two-year-old filly trot event set for Thursday, July 16 followed by the rookie colt and gelding trot on Friday, July 17.
Ontario-sired two-year-old trotters debuted in Ontario Sires Stakes action this night with three $30,000 Grassroots divisions making up the first preliminary round.
D A Johnny Cash (Green Manalishi S-Mable Kipp) rebounded from a miscue in his career debut last Friday, leading gate-to-wire in 1:56.3 with a :27.1 final quarter expanding his winning margin to more than three lengths for driver Doug McNair and trainer Chris Matthews, who also co-owns with Todd Williams of Guelph, Ont., and Jeff Bryan of Amaranth, Ont. Speedy Michael (Bob McClure) and King Of The South (Trevor Henry) finished second and third, respectively.
Kings Crown N Coke (King Of The North-Miss Everything) minded his manners after troubled starts in his first two outings last month, trotting to the top past the quarter out of post nine and holding off the pocket-popping favourite, Erinwood Cosmo (Scott Young), by a head in 1:56.3. Travis Cullen worked out the winning trip for conditioner Scott McEneny, co-owner with Varsakis Racing of Hamilton, Ont., and Cantucky Farm of Jarvis, Ont. Send Me No Flowers (Tyler Borth) rounded out the top three.
DA Trixter (Trixton-DA Miracle) won at first asking for the father and son, training and driving team of Bob and Scott Young, as he tracked the cover of favourite Great White North (Bob McClure) on the backstretch and collared that rival up the inside in 1:56.4, with Sunday Royale (James MacDonald) finishing back in third. Bob Young also shares ownership of the gelding with Lindsey Turner of Georgetown, Ont., Glengate Farms of Erin, Ont., and Haskell Pickup of Guelph, Ont.
In regular racing action, Absolution stole the show in her return to the Fillies & Mares Open ranks, pacing up a storm in the stretch to prevail in 1:50.3 in rein to Trevor Henry. A two-time Open winner earlier this year, the Jack Moiseyev trainee climbed back to the $44,000 top distaff class off a career-best 1:48.4 score last week.
Absolution got the jump on the trailing Sensationalize A (Travis Cullen) as she closed from third-over to best that sub-:26 closer and the popular pacesetter, Lets N Joy N (James MacDonald), who had put up fractions of :25.4, :55.1 and 1:23.4. Absolution won by half a length in the three-across finish.
Owned by Joanne Colville of Moffat, Ont., and Nancy MacNevin of Essex, Ont., the five-year-old McWicked-Be Ya mare now boasts 15 career wins with earnings just shy of $370,000.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Woodbine & Standardbred Canada; photo of Shalom Hanover winning on July 10)