Twenty-two of racing’s top two-year-old trotting fillies made their way to Mohawk Racetrack for Thursday evening’s Peaceful Way eliminations, and that number has now been reduced to ten following a trio of $30,000 tilts.
Celebrity Eventsy captured the opening elimination in front-stepping fashion for driver Brett Miller. He had the Staffan Lind student on the lead in the blink of an eye and she cruised through panels of :27.4, :56.3 and 1:26.1 before using a :29.1 kicker to win by four lengths over Ultimate Shopper in 1:55.2. Pennies From Above was third.
“The only problem tonight she was pretty hot,” said Miller following the race. “Going to the gate I was really worried, when I got up to the gate she pushed her face up against it and I was lucky to get her out of there trotting and once I got her out of there she was pretty hot and wanting to go fast.”
The daughter of Manofmanymissions-Little Ms Queenie improved her rookie record to 2-3-0 from six starts with the victory. She’s now banked $34,394 for Celebrity Farms of New York.
Caprice Hill was treated to a two-hole trip in the second elimination, and she didn’t let it go to waste. Tim Tetrick grabbed the prime piece of real estate for the Tony Alagna trainee who tracked All The Time through fractions of :27.4, :58.1 and 1:27.1. Tetrick angled off the rail turning for home and Caprice Hill fired home in :27.3 to win by three-quarters of a length over All The Time in 1:55. Emoticon Hanover was third.
“I was happy with (the two-hole),” said Tetrick following the race. “Yannick’s got a nice filly and it’s always good to follow one of Takter’s and take it as easy on mine this week because next week is where the big money is and hopefully that trip will pay off next week.”
Thursday night was Tetrick’s second time driving the Alagna trainee and he was able to gain some redemption after driving the filly in her only loss on August 4.
“I was kind of mad at myself or embarrassed she got beat,” said Tetrick. “She should have never got beat, she’s a nice filly and luckily she showed that again tonight.”
Sent off as the 4-5 favourite, the daughter of Kadabra-Bramasole notched her fifth win of the season from just six starts for Tom Hill of Hamilton, ON. The $15,000 payday bumped her bankroll to $172,730.
Could It Be Magic also parlayed a pocket trip into a victory in the final elimination for trainer/driver Wayne Henry. He managed to track High Heels through fractions of :27.4, :57 and 1:26.3 before popping the pocket and using a :30-second closing quarter to win by 1-1/4 lengths over Dewdle All Day in 1:56.4. Crazy Wild Desire took home the show dough, and High Heels was the lone drawn-by-lot fourth-place finisher to advance to the big dance.
“She’s pretty straight forward,” said trainer/driver Wayne Henry. “She can do it both ways. She likes the front, but she will come from behind.”
Henry Stable of Arthur, ON shares ownership on the daughter of Kadabra-In The Mean Time with Fred Brayford of Alliston, ON. It was her sixth win of the season from seven tries, and the lion’s share of the loot bumped her bankroll to $164,980.
Elimination winners earned the right to pick a post for the final, while the remaining seven finalists went into an open draw for the remaining spots on the gate for next week’s rich final. Here’s how they’ll line up in the final:
$410,000 Peaceful Way Final
1. Pennies From Above
2. Emoticon Hanover
3. Could It Be Magic
4. Caprice Hill
5. Celebrity Eventsy
6. Ultimate Shopper
7. High Heels
8. Crazy Wild Desire
9. Dewdle All Day
10. All The Time
AE. Side Bet Hanover
(With quotes from WEG)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.