It was a night of record-setting performances in the Canadian Breeders Championships for sophomores, which were featured on an action-packed card of harness racing Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack
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Bay Girl Upsets Stablemate Western Silk In Stakes Record Time
It was Bay Girl’s time to shine on Saturday night as she held off her heavily favoured stablemate Western Silk and longshot Ice Ice Baby to win the $169,339 Canadian Breeders Championship for three-year-old pacing fillies equaling the 1:50 stakes record at Mohawk Racetrack.
Driver Tim Tetrick fired Bay Girl to the lead from Post 2 and carved out fractions of :26.2, :54.3 and 1:21.4 en route to a career-best victory in 1:50. Bay Girl’s stablemate and fellow elimination winner Western Silk (Mark MacDonald) made a three-wide move before the final turn and went head-to-head with a pocket pulling Ice Ice Baby (Sylvain Filion) and Bay Girl down the stretch, but it was Bay Girl who pulled off the mild 6-1 upset, winning by a nose. Ice Ice Baby edged out Western Silk for second.
“She got off the gate real easy and she got to settle right up on the front,” said Tetrick of the winning filly trained by Casie Coleman and owned by Michael, Sam and Pat Sergi of Canton, New York. “There was a couple on the outside that left but there was room for them to get in and I just went ahead and let her do her work on the front. She had a really good race last week on paper and besides that I didn’t really know anything except what Casie told me. She said she’s good, she’ll run in and run out, but she brought game today. They just got by her but she fought back in her last step.”
“I knew they had to work as hard to keep up to her as I was working on the front," continued Tetrick. "She was putting up those fractions real easy so I wasn’t too worried. I let them get pretty close to her and she showed her guts and fought back.”
Bay Girl paid $15.60 to win for the second time in eight starts this year. The daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Whitley Bay, an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold champion at two, boosted her earnings to $114,332 this year and $319,654 lifetime.
Another Victory & Record For Cross Of Lorraine
Cross Of Lorraine was unstoppable as she kept some serious rivals at bay to notch her fifth consecutive win and lower another record in the $158,673 Canadian Breeders Championship for three-year-old trotting fillies on Saturday night at Mohawk.
Fresh off record-setting victories in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination and final at Georgian Downs and a win in her CBC elim, 6-5 co-favourite Cross Of Lorraine and Jody Jamieson left from Post 4 and reached the opening quarter in :27.1. Highland Strikes (Mario Baillargeon) began to advance first up down the backstretch flushing the other favoured filly, Poof Shes Gone (David Miller), from the three-hole by the half in :56.3.
Poof Shes Gone laid the pressure on Cross Of Lorraine as they raced past three-quarters in 1:25 and into the stretch, but Cross Of Lorraine held off last year’s Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year to score in a career-best 1:53.4, lowering the stakes record held by tonight’s Armbro Flight contender Elusive Desire. Poof Shes Gone finished second with elimination winner Emmylou Who (Lyle MacArthur) third.
“She just did what she always does, she fights off everybody on the front end,” said Jamieson in the winner’s circle. “I wasn’t sure how the race was going to go. The five [First Avenue and Donald Dupont] was leaving a little bit and I thought Sylvain [Filion aboard Wilsonator] might leave a bit more but when I could zip right to the lead I wasn’t going to let anybody go and she fought hard right to the wire.”
“At one point halfway down the stretch, Poof Shes Gone dug right in and got to my saddle pad but my filly was just really good today,” he noted.
“I don’t know how much is left in the tank when they go [1]:53.4, but she was very good,” said Jamieson of the Angus Hall-Katya Hanover daughter, who is trained and owned in part by his father Carl Jamieson. Toronto’s Thomas Kyron and London’s Hope Johnson also share ownership.
Cross Of Lorraine paid $4.60 to win. The winner of seven races in nine starts this year watched her seasonal earnings pass the $200,000 mark.
Hidden Message Rallies For CBC Victory
Hidden Message pulled off an 8-1 upset as he rallied from the backfield to take the $165,550 Canadian Breeders Championship for three-year-old trotting colts and geldings Saturday at Mohawk.
Windsong Geant (Steve Condren) crossed over to the lead from Post 7 and threw down a :27.2 opening quarter and was at the half in :56.2 before 4-5 favourite Text Me (Randy Waples) angled out of the three-hole and took over.
Arriba Amigo (Jody Jamieson) was next to move just before three-quarters in 1:24.2 and that one battled tooth and nail with Text Me down the lane, but Hidden Message and Phil Hudon, who sat sixth for most the mile, came flying wide off cover to steal the victory in a career-best 1:54.2. Arriba Amigo finished three-quarters of a length behind with Dontgetinhisway (Rick Zeron) coming on for third over Text Me.
“I think I was like fourth over to start and then when Randy cleared we were third over, but it was a gapped out third over so I was sitting like 10 lengths off waiting there around the last turn,” said Hudon. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I was getting a cheque around the last turn and then when I moved him four-deep around the turn he just started kicking and then I knew I had a shot.”
“If it all works out, he can definitely trot with anything down the lane, especially if they race a little bit and they raced a little bit but the flow wasn’t that great and he still ended up winning, so he’s legit.”
Hidden Message paid $19.80 to win as the third choice. The son of Kadabra-Lady Lionel, who has won half of his 12 starts this year banking $182,512, is trained by Emma Freize for the Fintec Stables of Hamilton, ON.
Records Galore For Big Bay Point
Big Bay Point went wire-to-wire to win the $166,871 Canadian Breeders Championship for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings in a 1:49 stakes record clocking on Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack.
With Tim Tetrick at the controls, Big Bay Point left from Post 4 and jumped out to an early three length lead by the :26.1 opening quarter. The son of Camluck-Great Memories raced to the half in :54.1 and three-quarters in 1:21.2 before the even-money favourite, Dalhousie Dave (Jody Jamieson), pulled the pocket at the top of the stretch. That rival was only able to get to Big Bay Point’s wheel though as he pressed on to score in a career-best 1:49, eclipsing the former stakes record held by Doonbeg. The time of the mile also lowered Arctic Warrior's track record (1:49.3) and Armbro Balmoral's Canadian record (1:49.2) for three-year-old pacing geldings.
“There was a lot of money on the line so we’ll race him out of a hole a bit later,” said trainer David Menary about his pupil's front end trip.
Menary also trains Haul Away, who sat third for most of the mile before fading to ninth.
“Both colts drew really well and they got the trip that I wanted them to. Haul Away, he’ll live to fight another day. He’s in a little bit of a valley right now but Big Bay Point sure stepped up and I’m very happy.”
“I was concerned about Jody [Jamieson and Dalhousie Dave],” he noted. “We’d done a lot of work and that horse is a nice colt and was way back last week and came closing. Tonight he got a perfect two-hole trip and could have fired. Both horses raced big.”
“That’s a good mile, you don’t need to drop more time,” he added.
Big Bay Point paid $6.00 to win as the 2-1 second choice. He notched his sixth win in 16 starts this year and lifted his earnings to $174,174 for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC of Fredericktown and Weaver Bruscemi LLC of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.
For recaps and replays of tonight's stakes for older pacers and trotters including the Maple Leaf Trot, Armbro Flight and Roses Are Red Stakes, click here.
To view Saturday's results, click here.