The Canadian Pacing Derby, Maple Leaf Trot and Milton Stakes, featuring many of harness racing’s best older horses, headline a stakes-filled Saturday, Sept. 5 card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Prince Hal Hanover and For Once Inmy Life won last Saturday’s eliminations of the $705,000 Grade 1 Canadian Pacing Derby and have drawn posts six and five, respectively, for the competitive final.
Prince Hal Hanover dug in down the stretch to defend against Ervin Hanover and several late challenges in a nose victory in 1:48. The Captaintreacherous-Percy Bluechip entire has won five of his 13 starts at four, including victories in the Charles Juravinski Memorial Cup and Pacey Mindlin Memorial, and has not been out of the triactor. Todd McCarthy will again handle the Dr. Ian Moore trainee.
For Once Inmy Life chased down the hyped-up Best Chip, a 1:46.1 winner at The Meadowlands in his previous, to take the other elimination in 1:47. The Downbytheseaside-Flyme To The Moon six-year-old has won five Opens at his home base of Plainridge Park and has regularly tangled with Grand Circuit company for trainer Cory Stratton. He has Jordan Stratton in the bike for Saturday’s showdown. Best Chip drew post four with Tim Tetrick in the sulky.
Dave Menary trainee Ervin Hanover, the divisional award recipient on both sides of the border last year, has post nine for driver Dexter Dunn. He was second by a head in this event last year and missed by the same margin when third in his elimination last Saturday.
The Canadian Pacing Derby field is listed below.
$705,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Women Layer - Doug McNair- Virgil Morgan Jr.
2. Lou Hill - Yannick Gingras - Petter Engblom
3. Oakwood Ardan Ir - James MacDonald - Robert Cleary
4. Best Chip - Tim Tetrick - Joe Bongiorno
5. For Once Inmy Life - Jordan Stratton - Cory Stratton
6. Prince Hal Hanover - Todd McCarthy - Dr. Ian Moore
7. Ayeaye Captain Deo - Mark MacDonald - Garry Merner
8. Crack Shot - Doug McNair - Gregg McNair
9. Ervin Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Dave Menary
10. Coaches Corner - Jason Bartlett - Petter Engblom
AE. Clever Cody - Louis-Philippe Roy - Francois Lecomte
Super Chapter, off a Canadian-record-tying 1:49.4 elimination win, highlights the group for the $620,000 Grade 1 Maple Leaf Trot. The stallion has won four of six starts this season and finished second in his two defeats, both by a neck in the Graduate Series final and the Hambletonian Maturity. His victory in his elimination was preceded by a 1:50.1 tally in the John Cashman Memorial on Aug. 8 at The Meadowlands. The four-year-old Chapter Seven-Lifetime Pursuit stallion is ranked sixth in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll. Dexter Dunn is listed to drive the 2025 Hambletonian runner-up from post two for trainer Marcus Melander.
Defending Breeders Crown champion French Wine won the other elimination as he shot down the outside from last in the six-horse field to a 1:50.3 score. The Nancy Takter trainee scored his first win of the year in four attempts in his second start at Mohawk since his 1:50.1 Crown triumph last year. Jason Bartlett has the drive from post six.
The field also includes local challenger Emoticon Legacy (PP3, Bob McClure), who was second in his elim and in the Earl Rowe Memorial, 2025 Dan Patch Trotter of the Year Lexus Kody (PP4, Tetrick) and last year’s U.S. Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year Yo Tillie (PP9, Todd McCarthy) in her second race against male opponents.
The field for the Maple Leaf Trot is listed below.
$620,000 Maple Leaf Trot (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Aetos Kronos S - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander
2. Super Chapter - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander
3. Emoticon Legacy - Bob McClure - Luc Blais
4. Lexus Kody - Tim Tetrick - Ron Burke
5. Go Dog Go - Scott Zeron - Carter Pinske
6. French Wine - Jason Bartlett - Nancy Takter
7. Private Access - James MacDonald - Luc Blais
8. Up Your Deo - Todd McCarthy - Ake Svanstedt
9. Yo Tillie - Todd McCarthy - Andrew Harris
10. Antognoni S - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
AE. Osceola - Doug McNair - Gregg McNair
The $225,000 Grade 2 Milton Stakes will be the first Grand Circuit showcase of an older trotting mare division with a new complexion due to the arrival of Francent N and the sidelining of Miki And Minnie. Francent N, a six-year-old Vincent-Mary Niven mare imported to North America from New Zealand earlier this year, put this cohort on notice when storming past Twin B Joe Fresh in the stretch of last week’s Fillies & Mares Open at Mohawk, a race which featured seven of the entrants to the Milton. She scored in 1:48.1 for trainer Jacques Dupont in her fifth start since arriving on the continent after being acquired by Ecurie CSL. She had previously ascended to the top class at Yonkers Raceway and has won three straight races heading into her first stakes engagement in the Western Hemisphere. Louis-Philippe Roy will remain her pilot from post six.
Twin B Joe Fresh, the two-time defending Milton champion, is set to depart from post nine with Dexter Dunn at the controls. She won the Grade 2 Dorothy Haughton Memorial and Grade 3 Clara Barton earlier this season but was second to Miki And Minnie, who is now out for the season due to injury, in the Lady Liberty and third in the Open last week. The reigning Dan Patch Older Female Trotter award recipient seeks her fourth win in her 10th start of the year for trainer Chris Ryder.
The field also includes Rodeo Drive Deo (PP8, Yannick Gingras), second to Francent N in last Saturday’s prep, and Mohawk Open regulars Absolution (PP2, Trevor Henry) and Grit N Grace (PP5, Travis Henry).
The full Milton field is listed below.
$255,000 Milton Stakes (Grade 2)
Post - Horse - Listed Driver - Trainer
1. Unreasonable - Todd McCarthy - Andrew Harris
2. Absolution - Trevor Henry - Jack Moiseyev
3. Louies Girl N - Jason Bartlett - Petter Engblom
4. Cold Creek Fuego - Louis-Philippe Roy - Daniel Walker
5. Grit N Grace - Travis Henry - Mike Kwietniowski
6. Francent N - Louis-Philippe Roy - Jacques Dupont
7. Talk Curdy To Me - James MacDonald - Dave Menary
8. Rodeo Drive Deo - Yannick Gingras - Ron Burke
9. Twin B Joe Fresh - Dexter Dunn - Chris Ryder
The Saturday undercard features the $140,000 Grade 3 Simcoe Stakes for three-year-old trotters, headed by 2025 O’Brien Award winner Strobe Lite (PP5, James MacDonald). He takes on U.S. invader Mothers Moni (PP1, Dexter Dunn), a 1:52 winner in the Muscle Hill on Aug. 7, and local rivals Dream For Peace (PP2, Mark MacDonald), Touchedbyanangel (PP3, Doug McNair) and Captain Nathan (PP4, Scott Young).
Friday’s action kicks off the stakes weekend with three divisions of the Grade 3 Simcoe for three-year-old fillies. One pacing event precedes two groups of trotters.
The $151,000 pace features double Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Gold leg winner Daya, with Jody Jamieson listed to steer from post five. She takes on Lavender Seelster (PP1, Todd McCarthy), Jen Tilly (PP2, James MacDonald), Easy Station (PP3, Doug McNair), Cackle Berry (PP4, Tyler Jones) and Adina Hanover (PP6, Jody Jamieson listed).
Current season OSS Gold winner and 2025 OSS champion Bingo Night (PP5, Tyler Jones) will take on 2025 Breeders Crown winner Storybook Love (PP3, Todd Ratchford) in the $79,000 first Simcoe trot. The remainder of the field consists entirely of locally based horses: Wild Rose Hanover (PP1, Mark MacDonald), Barbara May (PP2, Doug McNair), Pats Queen (PP4, Louis-Philippe Roy), Cupid Hall (PP6, James MacDonald), Delightful Yankee (PP7, Bob McClure) and Courtneys Promise (PP8, Trevor Henry).
The $78,000 second trotting contest features last-out OSS Gold winner Cher Hill (PP4, Doug McNair), OSS Gold and SBOA Stakes winner Blue Jean Gal (PP5, James MacDonald) and Ill Have The Red (PP3, Trevor Henry), who took a division of the Grade 3 Casual Breeze in June. They will face off with Twin B Showbiz (PP1, Tyler Borth), M E Laurel (PP2, Mark MacDonald), A Splash Of Green (PP6, James MacDonald listed) and Social Wizard (PP7, Louis-Philippe Roy).
Both weekend cards also feature OSS Gold action, with a $150,000 event for rookie filly pacers and two $100,000 splits for their male counterparts on Saturday and a $150,000 dash for rookie trotting males and two $100,000 divisions for female freshman trotters on Friday. Post time is 6:30 p.m. on both days.
To view Friday’s harness racing entries, click one of the following links: Friday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
To view Saturday’s harness racing entries, click one of the following links: Saturday Entries || Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
(Standardbred Canada)