Driver Louis-Philippe Roy nabbed the pair of Grade 3 stakes for pacing freshmen, winning the $120,000 Dream Maker with undefeated colt Shalom Hanover and the $125,000 Whenuwishuponastar with filly Treacherous Nova at Woodbine Mohawk Park on the Friday, Aug. 21 card that also included trotting eliminations for the Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way Stakes.
Shalom Hanover upped his unbeaten record to four with a 1:51.4 stroll as the overwhelming 1-9 favourite in the Dream Maker.
Roy planted the Dr. Ian Moore trainee into fourth heading to a :27.1 first quarter and soon angled outside for a steady brush after leader L A Captain (James MacDonald). He cleared control just after a :56.2 half and cruised around the far turn to clock three-quarters in 1:25.2 before sprinting for the finish in hand for a 3-1/4-length win. L A Captain held second from rallying Billy Hill (Doug McNair).
“The last few starts I feel like he’s been the same pretty much,” said Roy. “He’s felt good and put those big miles in the States [winning a pair of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes in 1:50.4 and 1:49.2]. Tonight he didn’t need to do that tough of a mile. I think Doc brought him here ready early in the season and I’m just excited to see when it’s going to stop and if there’s a horse that can beat him.”
A Papi Rob Hanover-Sammys Magic Girl colt owned by Shalom Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ont., Shalom Hanover has now banked $169,558 from his four victories, which also includes a Tompkins-Geers Stakes division in his debut at Mohawk on July 10. He was a $70,423 yearling purchase from the 2025 Standardbred Horse Sale.
Moore said after the race that the colt's next start should be in the Nassagaweya Stakes next Saturday, Aug. 29 at Mohawk before shipping south for the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes final.
Shalom Hanover paid $2.10 to win, with no place or show wagering offered.
Treacherous Nova ground first-up and powered past 4-5 favourite Mericana Hanover to win the Whenuwishuponastar earlier on the card in a 1:51.2 career-best mile.
Lyons Cariemontana (Mark MacDonald) rushed from the outermost post and crossed to the lead entering the first turn as Mericana Hanover (James MacDonald) plugged forward and laid aim on the top into a :27.1 first quarter. Mericana Hanover slid to the front into the backstretch and slowed the tempo to a :56.2 half, prompting Roy to angle outside with Kevin Benn trainee Treacherous Nova from fourth. Roy idled briefly to try and fish cover, but with no bites he marched up the rim after Mericana Hanover and drew to the leader’s wheel passing three-quarters in 1:24.2. Treacherous Nova overhauled Mericana Hanover in the stretch and maintained her speed to the finish for a 1-1/4-length win over Mauritius (Trevor Henry), who rallied from a second-over trip for second. Rockin Jade Deo (Bob McClure) took third as Mericana Hanover settled for fourth.
“When she won her maiden [on July 20], she had to work hard – we were sprinting at the end of the mile, and the fact that she really wanted to do it told me a little bit about what kind of filly she was,” said Roy. “That wasn’t my favourite spot to be [first-up]. I was hoping to flush Bob [McClure with Rockin Jade Deo], especially knowing the two fillies up front raced [hard] to the quarter. That made me kind of happy coming on them first-up instead of coming on fresh ones. Kevin Benn’s group got her very ready for tonight. That’s the first time she had the pull-plugs in; she used to have the cones where she could hear nothing. I don’t know if that helped, but she stayed game on me until the wire.”
Benn trains and co-owns Treacherous Nova, a Captaintreacherous-JBs Shooting Star filly, with partners Leo Fleming of Campbellville, Ont., and Dennis Chadwick of Napanee, Ont. Purchased for $51,389 from last fall's Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, the filly earned her second win from five starts and has now earned $81,500.
Sent postward as the 4-1 second choice in the betting, Treacherous Nova paid $10.30 to win.
Trotting freshmen sparred in $30,000 eliminations for the Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way Stakes with Detonater Hanover and Gios Hope taking the Wellwood elims while Dataprivacy and Fashion Athena scored in the Peaceful Way elims.
Detonater Hanover resurfaced from a win in the Grade 3 Millard Farms final two weeks ago with a game push against Top Reacher to win his William Wellwood elimination in a 1:52.3 career-best mile for trainer Dr. Ian Moore.
Driver Tyler Moore floated Detonater Hanover towards the lead through a :27.3 first quarter and found a pocket seat once early leader Top Reacher (Dexter Dunn) looped back to the top before a :56.1 half. With Lincoln Kronos (Yannick Gingras) looming up the rim around the final turn, Tyler Moore tipped off the pylons and pressed Top Reacher to three-quarters in 1:24.2. Top Reacher clung to a diminishing lead in the stretch as Detonater Hanover clawed forward and struck the winning blow by a half length at the beam. Ocean Storm (James MacDonald) rallied for third with Access Now (Bob McClure) fourth and The Italian Job (Scott Zeron) earning the last berth into the final.
“It’s been quite a ride,” said Tyler Moore, who collected his first graded stakes win as a driver when winning the Millard Farms final on Aug. 7. “I’m very fortunate to be a part of it. Everybody’s enjoying it and the horse is making it for all of us. He’s been exceptional. It’s been a long ride because I helped [my] dad with him when he first came up from Florida. The development of this guy has been unbelievable. I’ve been up front and close with how he’s turned into this wicked horse. It’s so amazing and I’m happy to be a part of it."
“When I brought him to Canada, he got really hot in terms of aggressive, and he was difficult for me to handle,” said trainer Ian Moore. “When I had the accident here in the early part of June, I lost feeling in my left arm for awhile, so I had no strength and it got a little difficult for awhile, but [Tyler] helped with him every day. He knows him and he does well driving trotters so we had no problem.”
A Muscle Mass-Dancing Flames colt purchased for $112,676 from the Harrisburg sale, Detonater Hanover collected his third win from five starts and has now earned $151,530 for owner Detonater Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ont.
He paid $3.90 to win as the bettors' choice.
Gios Hope brushed to the lead before the half and coasted to a 1:54.2 career-best win in the other William Wellwood Memorial elimination.
Driver Dexter Dunn sent the Marcus Melander trainee towards the top after a :28.1 first quarter and took over command from Data Breach (Bob McClure) heading to a :58 half. Yankee Boss (Yannick Gingras) mounted a first-up bid to three-quarters in 1:26.4 that Gios Hope swiftly rebuffed upon accelerating for home, and the odds-on favourite sailed in a 1-1/4-length winner chased by his fast-closing stablemate, Free Scottie (James MacDonald), in second. Data Breach took third with Yankee Boss ended up fourth and Kountry Cantab (Trevor Henry) grabbed the last spot into the final.
“He’s really nice. I like him a lot,” said Dunn after the race. “He was really good at Vernon [winning a New York Sire Stakes in his debut on July 10] and then, racing in New York on half-mile tracks, he felt terrific getting back to the bigger track. He’s quite a big boy, definitely have to nurse him a little bit more on the smaller track, but he felt really free tonight. He was travelling great around the last turn and when I asked him at the top of the stretch, he really lengthened his stride good and was doing it pretty comfortably.”
Winning for the third time from four starts, the Chapter Seven-Southwind Hope colt has now earned $116,967 for owners Brixton Medical Inc. of Matawan, New Jersey and Hatfield Stables of Columbus, Ohio. He was a $118,056 Lexington sale acquisition.
The favourite paid $3.70 to win.
Dunn and Melander also teamed to win the faster of the two Peaceful Way eliminations with 4-5 favourite Athenas Girl in a 1:54 mile.
Dunn settled his charge in fourth while City Of Light (Scott Zeron) swept towards the top through a :28.1 first quarter and moseyed to the half in :58.2. Beauts Cabaret (Doug McNair) angled off the pylons from third moving for the last turn, giving Athenas Girl cover as City Of Light upped the tempo to three-quarters in 1:26.3. City Of Light hit another gear in the stretch, but could not withstand Athenas Girl once Dunn uncorked her and gathered steam to the center of the track. Athenas Girl stormed away for a 1-1/4-length win over City Of Light with Elusive Station (Louis-Philippe Roy) checking in third, Major Contender (Jody Jamieson) closing for fourth and Beauts Cabaret ending up fifth for the last spot in the final.
“I always liked her, she just wasn’t putting together under pressure on race day,” said Dunn after the race. “But she’s getting the hang of it. She’s got the speed, so she’s getting more confident now. She felt like she had lots of trot coming to three-quarters and I obviously just wanted to stay flat and get her around the last turn. But once I tipped her off the helmet, she really trotted up the straight great tonight.”
Athenas Girl, a Walner-Fashion Athena filly who sold for $422,535 in Harrisburg, won her second race from five starts and has now earned $32,606 for owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.
Following up a maiden victory in as Kindergarten Series division at The Meadowlands last time out two weeks ago, she paid $3.60 to win.
A homebred for Determination of Montreal, Que., Dataprivacy ripped from off the speed with a :54.3 back half to land a 23-1 upset in the second Peaceful Way elimination.
Driver Bob McClure landed in ninth with the Luc Blais pupil while Treasure King (Jody Jamieson) rolled for the lead and cut a clip of :28, :58 and 1:26 under minimal pressure. But as Rebel Moon (James MacDonald) led the outer tier through the last turn before wavering into the lane, the backfield fanned across the track and built steady momentum after the labouring leader. Loves Passion (Dexter Dunn) weaved through traffic from a pocket trip as Verily (Louis-Philippe Roy) charged from the backfield past an even Nevis Peak (Yannick Gingras) while Dataprivacy reached her best stride late. Dataprivacy soared over the top and snatched the win in a career-best 1:54.4 by a half length over Loves Passion while Verily took third, odds-on favourite Nevis Peak settled for fourth from an even rally off a second-over trip and Creamy Armitage (Scott Zeron) grabbed the last berth in fifth.
“She’s been progressing pretty well,” said McClure. “She was having a bit of some gait issues, but her last start she raced really well; she won really handy. I trained her here on Saturday morning and she trained very, very good. Luc’s done a good job putting her together and I think it’s all coming into fruition now. I couldn’t be happier with her. I was pretty worried just getting into a spot for the final. She was a little shy behind the gate so we got away behind the eight ball early, but when I turned for home, she was pretty full of herself, and when she started trotting, I was pretty confident she was going to hit the ticket, but it wasn’t until late I thought she had a chance to win.”
A filly by Muscle Hill out of 2020 Peaceful Way champion Donna Soprano, Dataprivacy earned her second win from four starts and has now banked $31,500.
She paid $49.60 for the upset.
The $200,000 (added) final of the William Wellwood Memorial and the $175,000 (added) final of the Peaceful Way will be contested on Saturday, Aug. 29 at Mohawk.
In regular racing action, Mohawk's weekly $44,000 Fillies & Mares Open Pace was won by New Jersey invader Unreasonable, who was unchallenged through fractions of :26.3, :55.3 and 1:22.4 en route to an open-length victory in 1:48.4 for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Andrew Harris and owner Punisher 11 Stable. In the race for place, Talk Curdy To Me (Louis-Philippe Roy) slipped through between foes and out-sprinted Ultimate Desbi N (Bob McClure) in the photo finish.
Making her first non-stakes start of the season, Unreasonable was the heavy 1-5 favourite and paid $2.60 to win. The millionaire Huntsville-Roaring To Go mare, who has paced sub-1:49 miles in four of her last five starts including a 1:48 victory in the Mohegan Cup on July 26, now sports a seasonal summary reading 4-3-3 in a dozen races as a four-year-old and boasts 15 career wins.
The second leg of a conditioned Pop-Up Series also went postward on Friday with a pair of $16,000 divisions for female pacers. Ladyterra was a repeat winner for driver Daryl Thiessen and trainer Zach Carroll while Wicked N Single joined the series and defeated the other first-leg winner Eternal Delight in rein to James MacDonald for the Anthony Beaton stable. Both mares took new lifetime marks, winning in identical times of 1:50.4. The series is for mares that started for a purse of $11,000 or less in their last three starts, with winners over $40,000 in 2026 not eligible.
To view Friday's harness racing results, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(Woodbine & Standardbred Canada; photo of Shalom Hanover winning on Aug. 21)