Trot Insider has received updates on the status of some of the participants involved in an on-track accident at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, June 17.
In the 2023 Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational, Billy Clyde went off stride approaching the top of the stretch, starting a chain reaction that affected Whichwaytothebeach and Wheels On Fire, causing their respective drivers, Travis Cullen and Doug McNair, to be unseated from their respective pacers. McNair, along with his mount Wheels On Fire, got onto their feet immediately following the incident and then walked off the track. Whichwaytothebeach unseated Cullen in the collision. Those two horses were the only two entrants not to finish the race.
Reports from Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday noted Cullen was examined by paramedics following the incident and taken to hospital. Cullen told Trot Insider on Monday that he will be sidelined for the time being. He indicated that he suffered a concussion, fractured foot and ankle as a result of the accident but hopes to be back driving again in a "couple weeks." Cullen currently sits seventh in Canada in earnings ($1,450,441) and ninth in the nation in wins (124).
Whichwaytothebeach is back jogging, according to trainer Desiree Jones. She told Trot Insider on Tuesday, June 20 that the five-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere-Swinging Beauty has some scrapes as a result of Saturday's spill but seems okay so far.
McNair drove in the very next race on Saturday night, guiding Grace Hill to victory in the 2023 Roses Are Red Stakes before booking off the rest of the evening as well as this past Monday, June 19 and Tuesday, June 20 at Mohawk. McNair told Trot Insider on Wednesday, June 21 that he'd be back in the bike for his drives this Thursday, June 22. Canada's representative for the 2023 World Driving Championship, McNair sports $2,561,117 in purses this season — second best in the country — and 128 wins — seventh best.
Trot Insider will pass along an update on Wheels On Fire when available.
Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing those involved in Saturday's accident a full and speedy recovery.