Heavily favoured Captaintreacherous held off an upset-minded Vegas Vacation to capture one of three Nassagaweya divisions for two-year-old pacers on Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack.
In the $108,125 dash, the son of Somebeachsomewhere-Worldly Treasure, who won the Woodrow Wilson in a track record 1:49.3 at The Meadowlands on August 4, notched his third win in four starts for conditioner Tony Alagna.
Driver Tim Tetrick and the rookie pacer got away got away fourth, behind a :26.4 first quarter carved out by Evenin Of Pleasure (Sylvain Filion).
Into the backside, reinsman Scott Zeron then moved Battle Of Waterloo winner Tarpon Hanover from the pocket to the front, reaching the half in :56.3. Around the final turn, Captaintreacherous advanced first-up to add pressure to the pacesetter past the three-quarters in 1:24.4.
Unleashing a :26.3 final frame, Captaintreacherous got under the wire in 1:51.3. A late-rallying Vegas Vacation (Brian Sears) was beaten a neck. Captive Audience (Paul MacDonell) got up for third.
“I don’t take any horse lightly,” said Tetrick, in reference to the hard-closing Vegas Vacation. “He got a perfect trip off slow fractions and I was first-up. I led him all the way to the promised land, but my colt dug in and fought all the way to the wire. Every start that he gets, he’s getting smarter, more racey and he’s done everything that I have asked him to do so far.
“He’s a really nice, talented colt,” he continued. “He’s well-bred and he’s meant to be somebody and he has been so far. He set a track record there at The Meadowlands last [start] in :49 and a piece. He is a big, strong colt and can go either way. He’s just a very talented individual.”
With the triumph, the colt pushes his young bankroll to $221,337. Captaintreacherous, who was a $250,000 purchase at the 2011 Lexington Select Yearling Sale, is owned by Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, Joe Sbrocco, White Birch Farm. The bay returned $2.50 to win.
In the other $108,125 spilt, Odds On Equuleus survived a first-over trip en route to posting a two and a quarter length victory as the 1-2 favourite.
The Robin Schadt trainee and Hall of Fame driver John Campbell sat behind fractions of :28, :57.1 and 1:26.1 before using a :26.1 final quarter to score the triumph in 1:52.3. Dress The Part (Randy Waples) and Urbanite Hanover (Keith Oliver) finished second and third, respectively.
The son of Art Major-Latte Lady notched his third victory in four starts and lifted his earnings to $68,471 for owner Odds On Racing. The colt paid $3.10 to win.
In the final $109,624 Nassagaweya division, Apprentice Hanover front-stepped his way to a 1:51.1 career-best performance for trainer Ben Wallace and driver Jody Jamieson.
The 4-5 favourite, Fool Me Once (Sylvain Filion), was the fastest off the gate, clocking the opening quarter in :27, but into the backstretch Apprentice Hanover was taken to the front from fourth. The freshman pacer didn’t look back, putting up splits of :55.4 and 1:23.4 before pulling away from the pack to score by nine lengths. Sunshine Beach (Paul MacDonell) got up for second and Teresas Beach (Corey Callahan) was third.
The son of Somebeachsomewhere-Allamerican Nadia, who is owned by Brad Grant, is three-for-four in his debut season. With the win, Apprentice Hanover increased his earning to $75,592. The bay returned $7.40 to win as the second choice.
Apprentice Hanover, Captaintreacherous and Odds On Equuleus are eligible to the $1 million Metro Pace scheduled for Saturday, September 1. Eliminations for the rich final are slated for next Saturday, August 25. Both will be contested at Mohawk.
Two-year-old pacing fillies I Luv The Nitelife and L Dees Lioness upset in their respective $129,748 Eternal Camnation divisions also held on Saturday evening at Mohawk.
I Luv The Nitelife broke her maiden while pulling off an 8-1 upset for trainer Chris Ryder and driver Jack Moiseyev.
Battle Of The Belles championer Macharoundtheclock (Brian Sears) clocked the opening panel of :27.3 before I Luv The Nitelife was on the move from in third. As soon as the pacing miss cleared, the 7-5 favourite, Love Canal (Jody Jamieson), who had tracked her cover, took command just prior to the half in :55.2.
As the fillies marched past the three-quarters in 1:24.2, I Luv The Nitelife was angled to the outside and proceeded to open up on the field winning by a handy three lengths in 1:51.4. Macharoundtheclock finished second and Love Canal took show honours.
“We have been really happy with her the last two weeks,” said Ryder from the winner’s circle. “She raced well last time. We were really expecting her to race well. She paced [1]:51.2 in her last start finishing third and we are really not surprised. She looked like she won pretty easy. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Jack. She won by open lengths so I can’t tell you I was expecting that, but I am really not surprised.”
The $64,874 payday lifted the daughter of Rocknroll Hanover-Lisjune’s bankroll to $69,537 for owners Richard and Joanne Young. I Luv The Nitelife paid $18.10 to win.
In the other split, L Dees Lioness went gate-to-wire to capture the lion’s share of the purse for trainer Casie Coleman and driver Scott Zeron.
At odds of 9-1, the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere-L Dees Val held the lead through fractions of :26.4, :55.3 and 1:23.4, before stopping the clock in a new mark of 1:51.2. The 3-5 favourite, Parlee Beach (Randy Waples), got up for second and Somwherovrarainbow (Time Tetrick) finished third.
The two-time winner has yet to miss the board in her five lifetime starts. With the triumph, L Dees Lioness increased her bankroll to $103,937 for owner-breeder Lawrence Dumain, who shares ownership with Carlo Lattinelli. She returned $20.10 to win.
I Luv The Nitelife and L Dees Lioness are eligible to the $630,000 Shes A Great Lady scheduled for Saturday, September 1. Eliminations for the rich event are slated for next Saturday, August 25. Both will be contested at Mohawk.
In regular Saturday night racing action, John Fielding's millionaire pacer Alsace Hanover and Randy Waples advanced first over to win this week's $50,000 Open Pace in 1:49.1 by one and a half lengths over pacesetter Sparky Mark (Sylvain Filion). St Elmo Hero (Scott Zeron) finished third. The victory was one of three on the card for trainer Tony O'Sullivan.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.
(With files from WEG)