Live video is available from Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, Sept. 26 for the richest card in Canadian harness racing this year, featuring the Mohawk Million, Metro Pace, Shes A Great Lady, Canadian Trotting Classic and Elegantimage finals.
The post position draws for the million-dollar Grade 1 two-year-old stakes were conducted during the Woodbine Mohawk Park pre-game show on Monday, Sept. 21. To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Woodbine Mohawk Park - Saturday Entries || Saturday Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT).
The Metro Pace is headlined by elimination winners Shalom Hanover and Eastie Boy.
The undefeated Shalom Hanover is another young pacing phenom for trainer Dr. Ian Moore, who won last year's Metro with eventual Horse of the Year Beau Jangles. Shalom Hanover has victories in his first seven stakes starts, including Grade 3 scores in the Nassagaweya Stakes and Dream Maker as well as the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship. The Papi Rob Hanover-Sammys Magic Girl colt is the richest rookie in the field with more than $450,000 in purse earnings for Shalom Hanover Stable of Cambridge, Ont. Shalom Hanover will start from post three with regular reinsman Louis-Philippe Roy, while stablemate Cattletracks, a Grade 3 Champlain Stakes winner who finished third behind Shalom Hanover in their Metro elimination, will start to his inside from post two.
Eastie Boy is just shy of $250,000 in earnings with top three finishes in six of his eight stakes races to date, including the Pennsylvania final. Trained by Ron Burke, the Sweet Lou-Rockin Racer colt is a homebred for Pennsylvania owners Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Phil Collura. He is driven by Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and will start from post six. Burke also has a second Metro contender in New York Sire Stakes Championship runner-up Rose Run Cowboy, who will start from post four.
The starters were also revealed for the seventh edition of the Mohawk Million and post positions were drawn for the two-year-old trotting slot race on Monday.
Trainer Marcus Melander will be looking for this third straight victory in the Mohawk Million with his hopes pinned on a filly this time, the Grade 1 Peaceful Way Stakes champion Athenas Girl. Owned by Brad Grant of Milton, Ont., the Walner-Fashion Athena filly will start from post two with Dexter Dunn listed to drive.
The field includes Ocean Storm, the Grade 1 William Wellwood Memorial winner trained by Cameron Capone in post nine with James MacDonald getting the catch-drive, and the Wellwood runner-up and Grade 3 Champlain Stakes winner Access Now, who drew the outside post 10 and is one of two Luc Blais trainees with filly stablemate Dataprivacy getting the inside draw. Regular reinsman Bob McClure is listed on Access Now with Louis-Philippe Roy picking up the drive on Dataprivacy.
Three-year-old trotting fillies Nuance and Kngtstlkrs Games were the top performers in the eliminations for the Grade 1 Elegantimage Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday, Sept. 18. The Marcus Melander-trained Nuance was able to reach up in the final strides to nail Leading Lady for a 1:52.1 career-best victory in the first elimination, while Kngtstlkrs Games and driver Louis-Philippe Roy pulled off a 57-1 stunner in the action-packed second elimination for the eye-catching 1:51.2 career-best victory.
The Canadian Trotting Classic and Shes A Great Lady didn't require eliminations. Those fields are as follows:
$590,000 Canadian Trotting Classic (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Yankee Boost - Todd McCarthy - Gregg McNair - 20-1
2. Touchedbyanangel - Doug McNair - Kyle Fellows - 10-1
3. Apex - Dexter Dunn - Marcus Melander - 3-5
4. AI - Ronnie Wrenn Jr. - Ron Burke - 15-1
5. Strobe Lite - James MacDonald - Ben Baillargeon - 8-1
6. Magic Punk - Yannick Gingras - Ake Svanstedt - 9-2
7. Highland Destiny - Jason Bartlett - Nancy Takter - 20-1
8. Nix Nacken - Scott Zeron - Marcus Melander - 6-1
$510,000 Shes A Great Lady Stakes (Grade 1)
Post - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Odds
1. Treacherous Nova - Jason Bartlett - Kevin Benn - 15-1
2. Rockin Jade Deo - Scott Zeron - Luc Blais - 20-1
3. Money Carlo - Jody Jamieson - Dr. Ian Moore - 5-1
4. Twin B Mayreau - Louis-Philippe Roy - Francis Dumouchel - 7-2
5. Twin B Copacabana - Mark MacDonald - Tony Beaton - 10-1
6. Waves Of Fortune - James MacDonald - Tony Beaton - 3-1
7. Mericana Hanover - Dexter Dunn - Tony O'Sullivan - 20-1
8. Mauritius - Trevor Henry - Kyle Fellows - 20-1
9. Jersey Bulldog - Bob McClure - John Pentland - 9-2
10. Qued Up - Yannick Gingras - Kyle Fellows - 8-1
11. Aceandaten - Doug McNair - Gregg McNair - 6-1
(Standardbred Canada)