Eliminations for the Woodbine Entertainment Group and Standardbred Canada-sponsored Canadian Breeders Championship have been drawn, and will be front and centre on Mohawk Racetrack’s Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16 programs of live racing
.
The Canadian Breeders Championship is for three-year-olds of both sexes and gaits.
Each division of the CBC will have $170,000 (estimated) finals, wich will be contested Saturday, July 23 as part of another stakes-packed card of action at the Campbellville, Ont. raceway.
Mohawk’s Friday, July 15 program will showcase the CBC elims for trotters. A pair of $33,641 elims for the fillies has been carded as Race 5 and 7, and both will feature 11-horse fields (the top five finishers from each elim will advance to the final).
Fresh off a July 9 victory in a $130,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final, Striking Sahbra distaffer Peach Martini has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favourite for the first filly elim. Her co-owning trainer-driver, Rick Zeron, will be at the lass’ controls once again, and the duo will start from Post 6.
The Ben Baillargeon-trained Angus Hall filly Oh Sweet Baby (PP1, M. Baillargeon, 3-1) has been installed as the slight second choice in the early odds. Both Eagle Canada (PP5, D. McNair, 7-1) and Aquanilla (PP8, P. MacDonell, 7-1) have been installed as the third selections on the morning line.
On paper, the second elim for the three-year-old trotting fillies looks to be a good betting race. The morning line favourite, Kadabra bay China Pearls (PP1, Ra. Waples, 7-2), is heading into the dash after having raced overland in Peach Martini’s most recent OSS Gold final victory. The pupil of trainer Carman Hie finished fourth, beaten three lengths, and was individually clocked in 1:55.3 with a :28.3 final quarter.
The Tony O’Sullivan-trained Angus Hall filly Summer of Love (PP6, S. Zeron, 5-1) and the Norm Bardier, Jr.trained Taurus Dream lass Intense America (PP8, S. Filion, 5-1) have each been given the distinction of being the second option on the morning line.
A single 10-horse, $62,895 elim for the colts and geldings has been carded as Race 10. The connections of Daylon Magician, Sim Brown and Taramind have all accepted byes into the final, thus the top seven finishers from the elim will gain entrance to the final.
Striking Sahbra charge Lakefield (PP1, T. Ritchie, 5-2) has been given the early nod for the trotting colt and gelding elim. The student of trainer Per Henriksen has won four of 10 races this season, including a 1:56.4 victory over Woodbine Racetrack. Although he ran early and wasn’t a factor in his last outing, the gelding did trot in 1:54.2 over Georgian Downs two starts ago with Jason Brewer in the bike.
The Bill Companion-trained Striking Sahbra gelding Undercover Strike (PP5, R. Mayotte, 9-2) has been pegged as the second morning-line choice, while Marcel Bouvier pupil Over And Out (PP8, B. Davis, Jr., 6-1), a Ken Warkentin colt, has been gauged as the third option.
To view the entries for Friday's card of harness racing at Mohawk Racetrack, click here.
For a free, printable program of Mohawk’s Friday's card, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.
Mohawk’s Saturday, July 16 program will feature the CBC elims for pacers. A pair of $30,573 elims for the fillies has been carded as Race 1 and 2. The top five finishers will advance to the final.
The Rod Therres-trained and Scott Zeron-driven Village Janus has drawn the outside Post 8 for the first filly elimination. The Modern Art bay raced most recently in an OSS Gold event at Georgian Downs, where she got up to win by a neck in 1:51.1 during her elim. She tussled on the lead in the subsequent final. She ended up getting beat by more than three lengths, but was still timed in 1:52.1.
Village Janus will have the Bill Davis pupil Mach Lady and John Pentland trainee Patsys Luck to her immediate inside.
The Rod Boyd-trained Geartogear bay Look Cheap has drawn Post 6 in the seven-horse second elim, The brown lass flexed her muscles in the July 9 OSS Gold final at Georgian Downs, where she fired home for a three-quarters of a length win in a sharp 1:51.2. Robert Shepherd will be back in the bike on Saturday.
Other notables in the field include the Travis Umphrey-trained and Jody Jamieson-driven Mach Three lass Monkey On My Wheel, who has been pacing fast miles in the last couple of months but has been chasing an elusive win. Monkey On My Wheel will start from Post 2. The Dave Menary-trained and Mark MacDonald-driven Modern Art filly Modern Connection, who was solid in the recent OSS Gold event at Georgian Downs, will start from Post 3.
A pair of $32,066 elims for the colts and geldings has been carded as Race 11 and 12 (the top five finishers from each elim will advance to the final).
The Mike Keeling-trained Mach Three colt Sonic Dancer has drawn Post 4 in the first elim for the colts and geldings. The bay went unraced as a two-year-old and is riding a sharp, two-race win streak heading in. His last victory came July 1 at Mohawk --- a hard-closing 1:50.3 win in an OSS Grassroots event.
The familiar combo of trainer Jeff Gillis and driver Jody Jamieson will be represented in the dash via Mystician, the gifted son of Camluck that has banked over $1 million in career purse earnings. Jamieson and Mystician will start from Post 5. The Murray Brethour-trained and Rick Zeron-driven Mach Three colt Drain Daddy, who won in 1:50.4 over Georgian Downs earlier this year, will start from Post 2.
The second colt and gelding elim will see the Dave Menary-trained Camluck colt Prodigal Seelster look to rebound from his third-place finish in the July 9 OSS Gold final at Georgian Downs were he paced in a solid 1:51.1. Randy Waples will be in the bike once again.
The dash will also feature the Jack Darling-trained and Jody Jamieson-driven Thats The Life from Post 6. The gelded son of Life Sign has won five of his eight starts this season and has yet to miss the board. After having raced in the conditioned ranks, That’s The Life was solid front-end winner in an OSS Grassroots event July 1 at Mohawk, where he paced in 1:52.
To view the entries for Saturday's card of harness racing at Mohawk Racetrack, click here.
For a free, printable program of Mohawk’s Saturday's card, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.