After taking her Peaceful Way Stakes elimination with one of the fastest win times ever by a two-year-old female trotter in Canada — only Special Way, Mission Brief and Manchego have been quicker — R Dutchess will look to duplicate her mother’s accomplishment by capturing Saturday’s $390,000 final at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
R Dutchess’s dam, The Ice Dutchess, won the 2018 Peaceful Way on her way to being named Canada’s best two-year-old female trotter. R Dutchess, by Father Patrick, was The Ice Dutchess’s second foal and purchased under the name Shatter Me for $300,000 by Armitage Farm at the Lexington Selected Sale.
The family includes multiple Grand Circuit winner Ice Attraction as well as U.S. Hall of Fame broodmare Southwind Serena, the mother of the aforementioned Mission Brief and stallion Tactical Landing.
Last week at Mohawk, R Dutchess won her Peaceful Way elimination by a neck over Champagne Problems, rallying from fifth at the half and third at three-quarters to score in 1:53.1. Margareta Hanover was third, six lengths back. The clocking equalled the fourth fastest for a two-year-old female trotter in Canada, trailing only Special Way’s 1:52 in 2022, Mission Brief’s 1:52.1 in 2014 and Manchego’s 1:52.4 in 2017.
R Dutchess, who races for lessee M And L of Delaware, had Jody Jamieson in the sulky for trainer John Butenschoen.
“That was a big mile and she did it first-up a long way,” said M And L of Delaware’s Doug Paul. “She came her back half in :54 and a piece. John was high on her all winter long. She had some little quirks to get over, but hopefully that’s over now and she’s ready to do what we think she can do. We’re hoping for big things for her, but you know how two-year-old trotting fillies are.
“She’s a big, robust filly; there’s a lot to her. She has a lot of talent, she’s just green and has to figure it all out. Once she figures it out, she’s going to be even better.”
R Dutchess has won back-to-back races after opening her career with a second-place finish in a Kindergarten Classic Series division at The Meadowlands, where she missed by a head, and seventh-place finish in a Kentucky Sire Stakes leg at the Red Mile, where she made a break in the stretch after a four-wide move from the rear of the pack on the last turn.
“She just was coming so fast that she over-trotted herself,” said Paul.
In her start prior to the Peaceful Way elims, R Dutchess won a conditioned race in 1:55.3 at the Red Mile.
“She trotted her last three-quarters in 1:24 under wraps, so we were pretty confident in making the decision to come up here [to Mohawk] instead of staying down there,” said Butenschoen after R Dutchess’ Peaceful Way elim victory.
“She showed a lot of talent training down,” the trainer also noted. “She just a little dumb, green, and has too much ability for her own good at the moment. She’s still a work in progress, but she’s progressing the right way.”
R Dutchess is one of two Armitage Farm-owned/M And L of Delaware-leased fillies in the Peaceful Way final. The other is R Charm, who finished third in the elimination won by Royal Mission in 1:54.3. Trained by Linda Toscano, R Charm has a win, second and third in five starts this season.
“She’s a nice filly,” Paul said about the daughter of Propulsion-Jewels In Hock. “She’s drawn outside a lot. I think she’s better than what she shows. We have high hopes for both of them, but we think Dutchess might end up being a special filly.”
R Dutchess will start the Peaceful Way final from post two and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Jamieson will return to the sulky for Butenschoen. R Charm and driver Scott Zeron will leave from post four and is 10-1.
The morning-line favourite in the Peaceful Way is Champagne Problems, at 8-5. The daughter of Tactical Landing-Miss Caviar, purchased under the name Southwind Cupcake for $35,000 at the Lexington Selected Sale, has three wins and two seconds in five races this year. Her victories include the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship. Dexter Dunn will drive the filly from post one for trainer Nancy Takter.
“I thought [Champagne Problems] was maybe a little susceptible because Dex had to use her twice early and then I came at them hard, but his filly really showed some grit there,” R Dutchess’s driver Jamieson said after their elim. “She was still trotting at the wire. We were lucky to stick a nose ahead.”
Stakes action at Mohawk on Saturday also includes the $575,000 William Wellwood Memorial for two-year-old trotters. Tactical Dynasty is the 8-5 morning-line favourite for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron Burke. The son of Tactical Landing-Dynasty won his elimination by five lengths in 1:53.4.
The other elim was won by Emoticon Legacy in 1:56. The son of Walner-Emoticon Hanover is the 5-2 second choice and will leave from post two with Louis Roy in the sulky for trainer Luc Blais.
Racing begins at 7:10 p.m. on Saturday at Mohawk.
For more on the weekend's Grand Circuit events at Mohawk, click here.
(USTA)