Jeremes Jet came out of Illinois with authority when he blitzed Mohawk Racetrack during the 2005 Metro Pace. This time it looks like trainer Joe Seekman is the one that has a high gear Illinois invader in Annieswesterncard.
One has to look no further than the Western Hanover gelding's high octane victory during the Metro Pace eliminations Saturday night at Mohawk Racetrack. With pilot Yannick Gingras calling the shots, the 1:50.4 clocking went down as a new Canadian Record for two-year-old gelded pacers over a seven-eighths mile track.
Annieswesterncard – Metro Pace elim
"He had shown us enough training down to pay him into the big two-year-old stakes," Seekman told Trot Insider this afternoon. "He had shown us a couple of so-so qualifiers and had put in some decent miles [at Balmoral Park and Hawthorne Racecourse] before he went to Indiana Downs."
The August 2 contest at Indiana Downs -- in a division of the Elevation Stakes -- proved to be a coming out party for the bay winner of $73,129, as Annieswesterncard would go on to rocket to a track record 1:50.3. "He was really good in Indiana -- he was great," said Seekman.
Annieswesterncard - Elevation division
"I was expecting another big mile [in the Metro elims]," Seekman told Trot Insider. "Yannick had told me that he was a little hot in the post parade, which is normal for him. As soon as the gate started rolling he got on his business, like he always does."
Seekman told Trot Insider that Annieswesterncard came out of his multiple-move elim in great shape, and that all systems look to be a go for the $1 million final Saturday, August 30.
"He's been eating really well and he has already shipped back here to Michigan," said the trainer. "I'm going to go a training trip with him Wednesday and just jog him leading up to Saturday."
Annieswesterncard will start from Post 3 in the Metro, carded as Race 6 (9:25 p.m.) on the lucrative program which will feature four Breeders Crown finals for aged performers and the $672,000 Shes A Great Lady for two-year-old pacing fillies.
To view the charted lines from the Metro Pace eliminations, click here.