Triumphant Caviar didn’t get much luck in the post position department in the elimination or the final of this year’s Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk
, and that limited him to earning a pair of smallish cheques for his connections.
In recent weeks, however, the trotter has had some good luck in the post position department and that has led to a pair of impressive victories at Mohawk Racetrack. One of those victories came in Tuesday evening’s $42,000 Open Trot at Mohawk, and he did so in Canadian record time.
The 1:51.4 score shaved one-fifth of a second off the previous Canadian record of 1:52 for older trotting horses set by Equinox Bi in the Breeders Crown Trot at Mohawk Racetrack on September 1, 2007. The 1:51.4 performance missed matching the World Record for four-year-old trotting horses by one-fifth of a second. That record of 1:51.3 was set by Kadabra at the Meadowlands on July 11, 2003 and then matched at the Meadowlands by Lawman on June 10, 2005.
Armbro Chronicle had the field lined up behind him at the quarter pole in :27.1, but it didn’t take long for Ouellette to take charge with Triumphant Caviar. The four-year-old son of SJs Caviar-ENS Tag Session was on the move at the three-eighths pole and he was in charge of the tempo at the mid-way point in :56.1.
Ouellette opened up the throttle on Triumphant Caviar in the third quarter and rolled the field past that juncture in 1:24.1, and he used a :27.3 final frame to seal the deal by 1-3/4 lengths in an eye-catching clocking of 1:51.4. It was a personal best for the Chris Beaver trainee, who defeated runner-up Define The World and third-place finisher Equity.
"It's hard to imagine for him to get much better than he was tonight," said trainer Chris Beaver. "He [Luc Ouellette] said he had a lot left. Generally I think he should continue to get better, he's always gotten better right from two on up. He was at a disadvantage in the Maple Leaf Trot. He drew the nine hole and that kind of took him out of it and we were a longshot so he [Luc Ouellette] couldn't drive him aggressively."
The victory was the second consecutive score for the 11-time winner, who has banked more than $130,000 this season for his partners – Kerry Beaver, James Gallagher, Luc Ouellette and Paul Bernard. The $21,000 payday lifted the trotter’s lifetime earnings to $628,775.
(With quotes from WEG)
To view Tuesday’s results, click here.