Twenty-three trotting fillies invaded Mohawk Racetrack on Thursday evening for the Champlain Stakes, with three divisions on tap for the rookies
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Witch Way captured the opening division in a career-best clocking of 1:58.3 for driver Randy Waples and trainer Joe MacIsaac. The Ken Warkentin-Chelemark Gizmo miss enjoyed a two-hole trip behind Muscles Soul to the quarter pole before marching to the lead. Middle splits of :59.2 and 1:29.4 were dictated by the homebred, and she used a :28.4 final frame to win by 1-3/4 lengths over Cool Creek Breeze. Lady Andi came on late to grab the show dough in the $87,267 affair.
“She’s just a good filly, it’s as simple as that,” said Randy Waples. “Last week she jumped it off late, but she was going to win but, had a few minor issues to deal with that caused her to make the break. I trained her here the other day and she was really good and back to her old self and it reflected again tonight.”
Doug Millard of Woodstock shares ownership on the four-time winner with the filly’s breeder, Carolyn Williston of Moffat, ON. Together, they’ve watched the freshman put more than $161,000 on her card in just six tries.
Merrie Annabelle winner Check Me Out kept her undefeated record intact thanks to a stakes record-setting performance of 1:55.1 in the second division. The clocking shaved one-fifth of a second off the former mark set by Poof Shes Gone in 2009. Tim Tetrick mapped out the winning trip for the Ray Schnittker trainee, who is now 8-for-8 to start her career.
Tetrick got away fourth in the early stages while Bluff laid down a jaw-dropping opening quarter of :26.4. She was still in charge at the half in a backed-down clip of :57, but pressure was looming in the form of the first-over Superstar Hanover. She muscled her way to the lead going into the final turn, and she was then joined by the parked out Check Me Out at the three-quarter station in 1:26.1. Check Me Out used a :28-second closing panel to win by two lengths over Superstar Hanover, with Xquisite Chocolate taking home the bronze medal.
“She’s very smart and she does her job correctly,” Tetrick said. “They went plenty in the first quarter then backed down the middle-half so my filly went first-over and she raced all the way down the stretch and it was a good mile today. I didn’t mind being first-over with her because she doesn’t really seem to mind it. Mentally she can take it and as long as she can see horses in front of her and when I went by them she knew what to do. She’s just a really nice filly.”
The daughter of Donato Hanover-Illusion Bi is owned by Schnittker and partner Charles Iannazzo of Tappan, NY. The lion’s share of the purse boosted her bankroll to $290,559.
The final division went to Love Walked In, who held on for a narrow score as the 2-5 favourite. Andy Miller was third and parked past the quarter pole in :28.2 before brushing to the top. She chopped out fractions of :59.1 and 1:28.1 before using a :29.1 final quarter to stave off a late rush from Frisky Strike. Love Walked in prevailed by a head over that foe in 1:57.2, with Flower Bouquet grabbing third prize in the $89,267 contest.
“I wasn’t too worried [being on the outside] because we were not going a whole lot, but she’s definitely better out of a hole,” said Andy Miller. “She opened up fairly easily turning for home, but then she got lost. She was looking for a little company then it took her a little
urging to get her back to her task.”
Julie Miller trains the daughter of Glidemaster-So Fine Kash for Riverview Farms of North Bergen and Michael Parisi of Allentown, NJ. She’s put together a 3-3-0 record in seven tries while stashing away $174,270 along the way.
(Quotes from WEG)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.