A stakes-laden card featuring the Maple Leaf Trot, Roses Are Red, Armbro Flight and four rich finals of the Standardbred Canada co-sponsored Canadian Breeders Championships will top a solid program of racing Saturday
, July 25 at Mohawk Racetrack.
The $720,500 Maple Leaf Trot for aged competitors is the richest event of the night and has been carded as Race 7. The $360,700 Armbro Flight Stakes for trotting mares will be Race 9 on the program, while the $373,600 Roses Are Red Stakes for aged pacing mares will go as Race 10.
The quartet of Canadian Breeders Championships for three-year-olds of both sexes and gaits will be contested throughout the program. The $181,877 CBC for pacing fillies has been carded as Race 2, while the trotting fillies will be chasing a $155,417 purse in Race 3. The trotting colts and geldings will take to the track for Race 6 and will duke it out for the lion's share of the $166,880 purse. The final CBC has been carded as Race 8 and will feature the pacing colts and geldings.
Carl Jamieson-trained Astreos filly Windsong Filou (PP2, K. Oliver) will be looking to build on its 1:53.1 elimination win in the CBC pacing filly final, but will have to fend off fellow elim winner Not Enough (PP3, Ti. Tetrick), the Tracy Brainard-trained Grinfromeartoear filly which triumphed in 1:52.1 last week.
Michael Keeling-trained Angus Hall filly Elusive Desire (PP2, P. MacDonell) won by open lengths in its elim last week and will look to do much the same in the CBC trotting filly final. Marcel Barrieau pupil Jojo BingBing (PP3, M. Saftic), an Armbro Nash filly, will also be starting from the inside after an elim victory last weekend.
The CBC for the trotting colts and geldings will feature the Charalambos Christoforou-trained Kadabra gelding Equity (PP2, J. Moiseyev) looking to build on its 1:55 elim victory. Fellow elim winner I Wont Dance (PP3, T. Ritchie), an Angus Hall gelding trained by Per Henriksen, left from Post 8 last week and will now have a much better starting spot in the final.
After posting a nose victory last week during the elims, the Upper Canada Cup winning Western Terror colt Stonebridge Terror (PP1, M. Saftic) will leave from the rail Saturday for trainer Jack Darling. The 2008 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots champion, Fast Pay (PP3, P. MacDonell) will be in search of its largest pay day after having captured its elim last week in 1:51.4.
The Maple Leaf Trot is the headliner on Mohawk's Saturday night card and will feature all three elim winners firing out from advantageous starting spots.
The Ben Baillargeon-trained Sakic Seelster (PP2, M. Baillargeon) has shown a serious turn of foot this year on the WEG circuit. The five-year-old Eager Seelster gelding trotted away from its competition last week en route to an open-length victory in 1:54. Five-year-old Balanced Image gelding Arch Madness (PP3, T. Smedshammer) captured the MLT in 2008 and set the table for a possible repeat with a calculated off-the-pace victory in 1:53.4 for trainer Smedshammer last week. Lucky Jim (PP4, A. Miller) has been the toast of the division all year and will look to knock down yet another top stakes score on Saturday. The four-year-old son of SJs Photo took all the right steps last week when it sped over the Campbellville, Ont. course in 1:51.4.
The Armbro Flight will offer a solid field of trotting mares. Four-year-old Victory Sam daughter Autumn Escapade (PP2, T. Ritchie) will be searching for pay dirt for trainer Jonas Czernyson after having triumphed during the elims in 1:54.1. The much revered Buck I St Pat (PP3, R. Zeron) will be looking to hit the wire first for trainer Ron Burke after having captured its elim in 1:53.3.
The Roses Are Red will see some of the finest aged pacing mares duke it out. Four-year-old Badlands Hanover lass Tug River Princess (PP2, S. Condren) converted an overland trip in its elim and will look to best a field of 10 on Saturday. Six-year-old Bettors Delight mare Darlins Delight (PP3, Y. Gingras) once again thrilled the Mohawk crowd during the elims, coming from off the tempo to notch an open-length victory in 1:51.1.
Click here to view Saturday night's harness racing entries at Mohawk.