Tiring pacesetter Captain Crunch veered from the pylons through the stretch and opened a seam for pocket-sitter Century Farroh to shoot through, with the Dr. Ian Moore trainee sliding past to a 1:49.3 victory in the $171,503 Simcoe Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Best In Show pushed for the front from the pylons while Century Farroh settled for the pocket heading to a :26 opening quarter. Race-favourite Captain Crunch soon vacated the cones and swept to the front moving towards a :54.1 half.
Captain Crunch continued to lead under minimal pressure past three-quarters in 1:22.2 but began to drift off the pegs turning into the stretch. Best In Show pulled from the pocket to challenge the pacesetter while Century Farroh stuck inside waiting for a gap to open. Best In Show overtook Captain Crunch late in the stretch but enough room opened for Century Farroh to shoot past and win. Captain Crunch settled for third.
“I knew Timmy [Tetrick]’s horse [would] kind of drift out because he did last week and I was hoping Scotty [Zeron]’s did too,” winning driver Sylvain Filion said after the race. “Mine was full of pace and they were kind of asking their horses to go and they were not responding. It eventually worked out; we got lucky.”
Owned by Ratchford Stable Ns, Century Farroh won his 10th race from 12 starts this season and his 14th from 22 overall, earning $596,385. The Mach Three colt paid $16.40 to win.
“It just goes to show you sometimes that a lot of the two-year-olds get raced very hard and they don’t come back as three-year-olds. This guy never beat 1:53 last year… I think he won the final of the Grassroots in 1:53. He saved himself for this year I guess.
“We’re very proud with him; very pleased, and Sylvain Filion—he’s one of the best around here that’s for sure. I was cursing him when he didn’t move on the turn, that’s for sure. But I’m glad the rail opened for him because he did have a lot of horse. I’ll be talking to his owner to see if there’s any chance we may be able to supplement him to the Breeders Crown or something down the road here because he’s very lightly staked. He just has the last Gold and the final.”
Be sure to check out the rest of the recaps from Saturday's stakes-packed card in SC's News Centre
To view the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.