Mr Apples kicked off Mohawk Racetrack’s Saturday night program by earning his third consecutive victory in the $34,000 Preferred Pace
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Major Hottie (Mark MacDonald) fired off the gate from Post 6 and put up a :26-second opening quarter with 9-5 favourite Mr Apples and driver Mario Baillargeon protecting the pocket and a parked out Shady Cam (Sylvain Filion) rolling up to take over just past the quarter pole.
Down the backstretch, Major Hottie moved out for the re-take and hit the half in :53.4. As Major Hottie approached the 1:21.1 third quarter, Mr Apples launched his attack and sprinted home in :27.3 to prevail in 1:49.3 by one and a quarter length. Major Hottie edged out Anderlecht (Jody Jamieson) and longshot Kindly Poet (Randy Waples) for second.
Mr Apples' two prior wins came on August 7 in an Open Pace and on July 31 in a conditioning assignment at Mohawk. Tonight's win marked his seventh in 23 starts this year and pushed his earnings to $139,335 for trainer Tony Montini and owners Albina Montini of Acton, Paul Giammichele of Burlington, Eazy Racing of Mississauga and Joseph Rogers of Markham, ON. Overall, the six-year-old son of Bettors Delight-Never In Paris has won 23 times and banked $606,548 in his career.
Mr Apples returned $5.90 to win.
Saturday's program features the Metro Pace, She's A Great Lady and Canadian Pacing Derby eliminations. Stay tuned to SC for recaps and replays of all the stakes action.
To view Saturday's results, click here.