Only two of the two-year-olds entered to contest Friday's Breeders Crown eliminations come from the Ontario Sires Stakes program
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Leading the charge from the OSS is Prodigal Seelster, who has been absent from harness racing action since his disappointing ninth place finish as the betting favourite in the $1 million Metro Pace at Mohawk Racetrack on September 4. Prior to that start, the Dave Menary-trained son of Camluck had reeled off four straight wins including his 1:50 Metro elim win, a division of the Nassagaweya and a sweep of Grand River's Battle of Waterloo.
Owned by Ontario's Larry Menary, Denis Breton, Ken Ewen and Double Or Nothing Stables, Prodigal Seelster is in the third of three $25,000 eliminations for two-year-old pacing colts. He has drawn Post 5 in the field of seven and is listed as the second choice at 7-2.
Lining up to his inside is another colt with Canadian connections, Big Jim. Jim Carr's strapping son of Western Ideal, who also finished out of the money in the Metro, rebounded from his first off the board finish with a lifetime best equalling 1:50.2 score in the Champlain at Mohawk on Sept. 11.
Phil Hudon will drive Big Jim, listed as the favourite at 5-2, for trainer James 'Friday' Dean from post 2.
Great Vintage, who was third in the Metro to snap a four-race win streak, faces Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship runner-up Mr Carmine Fra and New Jersey Sire Stakes winner Foreclosure N in the first elimination. Also in the field is Westwardho Hanover, who is unbeaten in four races.
Trained by Jim Campbell and driven by David Miller, Fashion Delight has won four races in a row, including the Woodrow Wilson on August 20 at the Meadowlands, and a division of the New York Sire Stakes at Vernon Downs on September 11. He has won four of six races and earned $298,350 for the season.
Fashion Delight is in the second of the three eliminations. Also in his split are Big Bad John, who has won five of six races this year, Champlain Stakes division winner Roll With Joe, New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Lookinforadventure, and Wilson runner-up Line Officer.
Race 2 - Two-Year-Old Pacing Colts, First Elimination
1 - Mr Carmine Fra (Napolitano)
2 - Westwardho Hanover (B. Miller)
3 - Foreclosure N (Tetrick)
4 - Lizard King (D. Miller)
5 - Roadside Delight (Pierce)
6 - Great Vintage (Campbell)
7 - Top Doc (Powell)
Race 12 - Two-Year-Old Pacing Colts, Second Elimination
1 - Big Bad John (Palone)
2 - Fashion Delight (D. Miller)
3 - Lookinforadventure (Campbell)
4 - Line Officer (Brennan)
5 - Nathan Feelsgood (Kramer)
6 - High Noon (Dube)
7 - Vincent Fra (B. Miller)
8 - Roll With Joe (Sears)
Race 13 - Two-Year-Old Pacing Colts, Third Elimination
1 - Hugadragon (Palone)
2 - Big Jim (Hudon)
3 - Wink N Atcha (Sears)
4 - Rollwithitharry (Gingras)
5 - Prodigal Seelster (Tetrick)
6 - Shadyshark Hanover (Morrill Jr.)
7 - Fameous Western (Dube)
THREE ELIMS FOR BREEDERS CROWN 2-YEAR-OLD MALE TROTTERS
William Wellwood Memorial winner Pastor Stephen and runner-up Broad Bahn were among 23 two-year-old male trotters entered in the division’s $600,000 Breeders Crown. The top three finishers from each elim advance to the final on October 9.
Pastor Stephen is in the third elimination, where he will start from post five for trainer Jimmy Takter and driver Yannick Gingras. Pastor Stephen won the $500,000 Wellwood by a neck over Broad Bahn, giving him six victories in seven starts this year. His only setback came when he was placed sixth, from first, in the $500,000 Peter Haughton Memorial. His connections are appealing the decision, which cited interference on the backstretch.
Broad Bahn is in the first elimination, where he will see Haughton winner The Lindy Reserve and $200,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion Not Nice.
Leader Of The Gang, who joins Pastor Stephen, Not Nice and Johnny B Kemp from the Takter Stable, is in the second elimination. He was third in the Wellwood and Haughton. Dejarmbro, coming off a win in the $200,000 New York Sire Stakes final, also is in the field.
Following are the elimination fields in post position order.
Race 1 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Colts, First Elimination
1 - Buffalino Hanover (Schadel)
2 - Just In (Pierce)
3 - The Lindy Reserve (Tetrick)
4 - Swan In A Million (Sears)
5 - Broad Bahn (Moiseyev)
6 - Not Nice (Johansson)
7 - Mythical Hall (Campbell)
Race 9 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Colts, Second Elimination
1 - Live Jazz (Campbell)
2 - Gimme A Good One (Fluet)
3 - Tigers Too Good (Sears)
4 - Rarely Ordinary (Morrill Jr.)
5 - Orlando (Tetrick)
6 - Leader Of The Gang (Pierce)
7 - Johnny B Kemp (D. Miller)
8 - Dejarmbro (Gregory)
Race 11 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Colts, Third Elimination
1 - Neal (Sears)
2 - Manofmanymissions (A. Miller)
3 - Carthage Hanover (Smedshammer)
4 - Big Rigs (Campbell)
5 - Pastor Stephen (Gingras)
6 - Del Cielo (LaChance)
7 - Talespinner (Dube)
8 - Luckycharm Hanover (Palone)
BREEDERS CROWN TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY TROTTERS SOUND SWEET
Multiple stakes-winner Creme De Cocoa was among 19 horses entered in the $600,000 Breeders Crown for TWO-year-old filly trotters. Three eliminations will be held Friday at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, with the top three finishers from each elim advancing to the final on October 9.
Creme De Cocoa is coming off wins in the $71,000 American-National and $161,800 Kentuckiana Stallion Management stakes. She was second in the $437,000 Merrie Annabelle. She will start from post five in the second elimination, which also includes Champlain Stakes division winner Martiniontherocks and Merrie Annabelle third-place finisher Fitness Girl.
“She’s very good,” trainer-driver D.R. Ackerman said about Creme De Cocoa. “She’s very sharp, very sound, very healthy. She couldn’t be better.”
A homebred filly, Creme De Cocoa is by Chocolatier – who won the 2005 Breeders Crown for two-year-old male trotters and earned $1.32 million for the Ackerman Stable – out of the mare Judge Judy. Creme De Cocoa is a three-quarter sister to 2009 Yonkers Trot winner Judge Joe.
“She was perfect training down,” Ackerman said. “She can be a finicky eater at times, but on the whole, she’s not bad. She likes to compete, likes to race. She handles racing well; the whole shipping and the whole gig with it. She accepts it very easily.
“I think she’ll do well. I think she’s one of the better ones. She’s not a breaker and she’s been racing very consistent. She’s good and sharp right now. She should do very good.”
Seducedbychocolate, coming off a track-record 1:56.4 win in the $134,000 Kindergarten Classic Series final at Vernon Downs, joins Champlain Stakes division winner Global Desire, and Peaceful Way third-place finisher Lady Rainbow in the first elimination.
New Jersey Sire Stakes winner Pilgrims Truffles and Kentuckiana runner-up Angelette Hanover lead the third elim.
Following are the elimination fields in post position order.
Race 3 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Fillies, First Elimination
1 - As Yall Like It (Campbell)
2 - Lady Rainbow (Zeron)
3 - Hey Mister (Sears)
4 - Seducedbychocolate (D. Miller)
5 - Global Desire (Pierce)
6 - Firstclassprincess (Smedshammer)
Race 5 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Fillies, Second Elimination
1 - Madusa Blue Chip (Morrill Jr.)
2 - Tango Dancer (Palone)
3 - Martiniontherocks (Filion)
4 - Bold And Fresh (Campbell)
5 - Creme De Cocoa (Ackerman)
6 - Fitness Girl (Tetrick)
Race 7 - Two-Year-Old Trotting Fillies, Third Elimination
1 - Sweet Love (D. Miller)
2 - Angelette Hanover (Morrill Jr.)
3 - Andover The Top (Palone)
4 - Pilgrims Truffles (Meittinis)
5 - Hot Off The Press (Ingrassia)
6 - Devilish Emerald (Zendt)
7 - Celebrity Katie (B. Miller)
UNBEATENS HEADLINE BREEDERS CROWN 2-YEAR-OLD FILLY PACE
The two-year-old pacing fillies vying for the Breeders Crown will have to get past a pair of elimination races to determine the nine to go postward in the $600,000 final on October 9 at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. A total of 16 fillies entered, so the top four finishers from two eight-horse elims, plus the fifth-place finisher with the most earnings, will advance to the final.
See You At Peelers, unbeaten in 11 races, leads the first elimination race. Trained by Jimmy Takter and driven by Jim Morrill Jr., her most recent triumph came in the $200,000 New York Sire Stakes championship at Yonkers Raceway on September 25. She has earned $269,149 this season.
Also in the elim is Pretty Katherine, who has won divisions of the Champlain and Eternal Camnation stakes, and $402,400 Sweetheart winner Honky Tonk Woman. This will be Pretty Katherine’s first trip outside Ontario.
Trainer Casie Coleman will send out the likely favorite in the second elimination, the unbeaten Idyllic, who is 6-for-6 and beat her stablemate Pretty Katherine to win the $660,480 She’s A Great Lady. Idyllic has post eight, and has the most earnings of any filly in this division with $451,749 and a mark of 1:51.4. She will be driven by Mark MacDonald.
New Jersey Sire Stakes winner I Kill Time and $190,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management winner So Perfect, another from the Takter Stable, will also look to advance from the second division.
Following are the elimination fields in post position order.
Race 6 - Two-Year-Old Pacing Fillies, First Elimination
1 - Drop The Ball (Tetrick)
2 - Shyaway (Sears)
3 - See You At Peelers (Morrill Jr.)
4 - Ms Malicious (Pierce)
5 - Celebrity Dollfin (B. Miller)
6 - Pretty Katherine (MacDonald)
7 - Show And Tell (Palone)
8 - Honky Tonk Woman (D. Miller)
Race 10 - Two-Year-Old Pacing Fillies, Second Elimination
1 - Tea Pot Hanover (D. Miller)
2 - So Perfect (Sears)
3 - Rocklamation (Tetrick)
4 - Myluvmylife (Brennan)
5 - Strike An Attitude (Palone)
6 - I Kill Time (Gingras)
7 - Cold Mist (B. Miller)
8 - Idyllic (MacDonald)
The program for Friday's eliminations is available here.
HPI will be airing the Breeders Crown eliminations this Friday and Saturday from Pocono Downs.
(with files from HRC)