The favourites all brought their 'A' game to Mohawk Racetrack on Sunday night and delivered in each of three $30,000 eliminations for the William Wellwood Memorial Trot for two-year-old colts and geldings.
It was another flawless effort from Federal Flex in the opening elimination as the son of Muscles Yankee sat patiently in fourth throughout most of the mile and watched Top Chef put up fractions of :27.4, :57.2 and 1:27.1.
Once driver Jody Jamieson asked Federal Flex for trot, the colt responded as expected and easily swallowed up the pacesetter before kicking on in the stretch to win by four lengths in 1:56.2. All Cantab rallied well to pick up second with Top Chef holding on for the show spot.
Federal Flex - Wellwood Elim #1
"He's gotten tighter with every start and he's just been on cruise the past couple of weeks," said Jamieson. "We got some new partners in on him. We think he's a pretty special colt and they obviously think the same by jumping in."
The new partners to the ownership group are Al Libfeld and Marvin Katz who purchased 20 per cent of the colt recently for an undisclosed sum. They now co-own along with the Federal Flex Stable and Ken Henwood.
The victory improved the colt's record to a perfect four-for-four and increased his earnings to just over $105,000.
Tom Cango also kept his perfect career win streak intact with a 1:57.1 tally for driver Steve Condren in the second split. The son of Tom Ridge
used similar off-the-pace tactics to deliver for the fourth time in his career.
Full Volume was second best and Photoforwin, who recovered from gapped off start, finished third.
The colt, trained by Jim Campbell, is a half-brother to Broadway Hall, another youngster who was conditioned by Campbell and went undefeated in only nine career starts before retiring with just over $500,000 in earnings.
Tom Cango - Wellwood Elim #2
"He handled the track very well for the first time here and I thought he went a great race tonight," said Campbell. "He's just getting started and I think he can hold his own with these other colts. I think he's coming into the final in good shape."
The lion's share of the purse increased Tom Cango's seasonal earnings to just shy of $40,000 for owners Arlene and Jules Siegel of New Hope, PA.
In the night's final elimination, Encore Encore and driver Trevor Ritchie worked out a perfect second-over trip and converted for an easy 1:57 victory. The son of Broadway Hall followed the cover of Pointe Of Honour until the stretch and was then able to kick past that rival for the win with Celebrity Legacy who landed the third spot.
Encore Encore - Wellwood Elim #3
It was the fifth career tally in just eight starts for trainer Richard Gillock and owner Robert Key of Leechburg, PA. The win boosted his seasonal bankroll to just over
$83,000.
The top three finishers from each elimination automatically earned a birth into next Sunday's $514,100 William Wellwood Memorial Trot Final with one fourth-place finisher drawn by lot. The lucky name drawn was that of Russell Hill.
Here is a look at the field for the final:
$514,100 Wm. Wellwood Memorial Trot Final
1. Full Volume
2. Encore Encore
3. Tom Cango
4. Federal Flex
5. Russell Hill
6. Photoforwin
7. Celebrity Legacy
8. Pointe Of Honour
9. All Cantab
10. Top Chef
(WEG)
To view Sunday's results, click here.