Raising Rachel kept her undefeated streak intact while Celebrity Juliet and Windsong Soprano were also victorious in tonight's trio of $30,000 eliminations for the Peaceful Way Stakes for two-year-old filly trotters at Mohawk Racetrack.
All three winners were quite impressive under less than ideal conditions with heavy rains leaving the track rated as sloppy throughout the card.
In the opening split, Celebrity Juliet used front-end tactics for the first half, yielded the lead going into the last turn, and then rallied in the stretch to win going away for Trevor Ritchie in 1:59.3. The daughter of Cantab Hall turned back Broadway Paige and Mystic River.
It was the third win in seven starts this year for the Staffan Lind trainee and increased her earnings to just over $44,000 for the Celebrity Farms of New York, NY.
The second elimination produced the quickest clocking as Windsong Soprano won a stretch-long sprint to prevail in 1:57.4 for driver Steve Condren. The daughter of Windsongs Legacy needed the entire length of the stretch to haul down a determined Dover Miss with Elusive Desire rounding out the top three.
It was a maiden-breaking victory for Windsong Soprano who is trained by Bob McIntosh for Lothlorien of Cheltenham, Ontario. The win boosted her seasonal bankroll to just over $52,000.
Raising Rachel remained perfect in her young career with a hard-fought off-the-pace win in the final split for Jack Moiseyev in 1:59. The daughter of Yankee Glide got up late to defeat Seaside with I Wanted Wings grabbing the show spot.
It was the seventh consecutive victory for the John Kopas trainee and boosted her career bankroll to just over $135,000 for owners Mel Hartman, KR Stable, Doug Millard and George Hempt.
The top three finishers automatically advanced to the $575,000 final which goes next Sunday night at Mohawk. There was also one fourth-place finisher who was drawn by lot and that was Stonebridge Diva.
Here is a look at the entire field for the Peaceful Way Stakes in post position order:
$575,000 Peaceful Way Stakes
1. Elusive Desire
2. Raising Rachel
3. Celebrity Juliet
4. Windsong Soprano
5. Dover Miss
6. I Wanted Wings
7. Mystic River
8. Stonebridge Diva
9. Broadway Paige
10. Seaside
(WEG)
To view Monday's results, click here.