Major Hottie and Voelz Hanover scored a pair of 1:50 front end victories in their Preferred assignments amidst the stakes action at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday
night.
With Chris Christoforou in the bike, Major Hottie blasted off the gate from Post 7 in the $35,000 Preferred Pace and powered past stations of :26.3, :55.4 and 1:23.3 en route to victory in 1:50 flat. Ideal Race (Brian Sears) followed three and a quarter lengths behind from the pocket with Pepsi North America Cup winner Up The Credit (Jody Jamieson) rallying home for third.
The six-year-old son of Art Major-Dominatricks, now four-for-14 this year, is trained by Stephen Charlton for Larocque Racing Stable Inc. of Thornhill, Ont. The lion’s share of the purse leaves him just shy of the $100,000 earnings mark for the year and the half-million mark lifetime. The victory was his 21st lifetime in 100 career starts.
Major Hottie paid $11.20 to win as the 9-2 third choice in the field.
Earlier on the card, Voelz Hanover topped the $32,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace, prevailing in a four-horse photo finish by a nose.
The six-year-old daughter of Astreos-Vassar Hanover, driven by Luc Ouellette, fired off the gate from Post 6 but let Pink Kangaroo (Randy Waples) clear before the :26 second first quarter mark. Voelz Hanover retook the lead down the backstretch and posted middle panels of :53.4 and 1:22.1 before holding off the onslaught of the late closers for the 1:50 win, equalling her lifetime mark. Western Silk (Mark MacDonald) missed by a nose, while Adaymer Seelster (Tim Tetrick) and Naughtytiltheend (Sylvain Filion) finished a half length behind in third and fourth.
The Ben Baillargeon trainee earned her third win in 18 starts this year while pushing her earnings to over $82,000 for owner Richard Berthiaume of Pointe-Aux-Trembles, Que. The mare, who recently topped the million dollar mark in career earnings, has won 22 times in 85 starts lifetime.
Voelz Hanover paid $8.80 to win as the 3-1 second choice.
For results from Saturday's harness racing card, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Mohawk Racetrack.