On the Saturday (Sept. 5) undercard, Woodbine Mohawk Park contested two divisions of the $170,012 Simcoe Stakes for three-year-old pacing colts, with Warrawee Vital scoring in the first division and Tattoo Artist in the second.
Warrawee Vital vaulted from the pocket by 3-5 favourite Beaumond Hanover to win the first division of the Simcoe in 1:49.1.
Driver Trevor Henry hurried Warrawee Vital from post 6 to take the lead early moving to the first turn, but Beaumond Hanover quickly angled outside and rushed to grab command past a :27 first quarter. The field raced single file behind Beaumond Hanover to a :54.4 half with Captain Nemo making the first move to the far turn, pulling first over from fourth but not advancing.
Beaumond Hanover strode unchallenged to three-quarters in 1:22.3 but faced pressure into the stretch when Warrawee Vital swung out of second and dug into the pacesetter’s lead before power past and away from Beaumond Hanover to win. Mayhem Hanover finished third with Aneto fourth.
“Around the first part of March he went sore, and we had to do some CT scans, MRIs, X-rays… over and over to find out and get a proper diagnosis,” said trainer Robert Don Fellows on Warrawee Vital’s absence prior to the racing shutdown. “After we found it, we treated him and kept him in the pool to keep him half fit because the season’s only—at the end of the year, we tried to catch. We didn’t really get enough starts in him before the North America Cup. It was local… we took a shot and a wish, but now since then these are the two starts I would’ve liked to have before that. He’s a nice horse, I don’t know if he’s that type of horse, but we’ll keep going week to week.”
Owned by Blair Corbeil, N. Yolanda Fellows and M&s Racing Stable Inc., Warrawee Vital won his fifth race from eight starts this season and his sixth from 10 starts overall, earning $103,253. The Captaintreacherous colt paid $6.10 to win.
Tattoo Artist took control early and coasted to a measured 1:49.2 victory in the second Simcoe division.
Leading the field to a :26.2 first quarter, Tattoo Artist continued to lead under no pressure to a :54.4 half. Capt Midnight, racing fourth, edged first over and progressed slightly towards the leader into the final turn tracked by stablemate Captain Barbossa.
Tattoo Artist clipped three-quarters in 1:22.2 and scooted away as Capt Midnight and Beach Blanket Book raced in tight quarters. Captain Barbossa rolled three wide and hit his best stride midstretch chased by Rhythm In Motion to his outside. The field started closing on Tattoo Artist into the sixteenth pole, but the Dr. Ian Moore trainee kept a half length in front to win. Captain Barbossa took second with Rhythm In Motion third and Capt Midnight fourth.
“He gets pretty cocky up there,” McClure said after the race with a laugh. “He’s extremely fast off the gate, so that gives you a lot of options as a driver. And when you’re 4-5 with that kind of gate speed, you want to keep them out of trouble; you want them forwardly placed. The best part about him [is that] he’s gotten to the point now where you can leave out and shut him right down. I let him roll pretty good up to the half—if you slow down too much sometimes people don’t have the option but to come at you. Then I tried to catch a little more of a breather in the last turn but he didn’t want to. Then he came 27 flat with the plugs in and won, so he doesn’t need to win by two. And he’s as fresh now as he was at the start of the year.”
Off a runner-up finish in the $1,000,000 Pepsi North America Cup, Tattoo Artist collected his sixth win from nine starts this season and his 11th from 17 overall, earning $694,478 for owners Frank Cannon and Let It Ride Stables Inc. The Hes Watching colt paid $3.70 to win.
The Simcoe Stakes were one of the handful of major stakes events on the Saturday card at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Recaps from the other races are available at the following links:
To view the results from Saturday's card of harness racing at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.