After making a rare miscue in his 2019 Pepsi North America Cup elimination, favoured Captain Crunch faced a daunting task to qualify for the lucrative million-dollar final. With one test passed, a second stiffer assignment looms this Saturday.
The connections of Captain Crunch (PP8, Scott Zeron, 5-2), last season’s Dan Patch winner as the Two-Year-Old Pacing Colt of the Year in the U.S., experienced some bad luck in the bay’s Cup elim, as the colt made his first-ever charted break. Scott Zeron and Captain Crunch were able to regroup, race overland the rest of the way, and finish fifth to gain entrance to the final. (Click here to watch/hide the video replay.)
Captain Crunch had been nothing short of sensational this season heading into his Cup elim. The son of Captaintreacherous debuted on May 19 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono with a life’s best 1:49.1 win in the slop, and followed that effort up with a 1:49.2 victory over the same course on May 26 without being asked.
Trained by Nancy Johansson for owners 3 Brothers Stables (New York, NY), Christina Takter (East Windsor, NJ), Rojan Stables (Wilmington, DE) and Caviart Farms (Vienna, VA), Captain Crunch has won eight of his 13 career starts and has banked $688,000 in purses.
Johansson provided an update on Captain Crunch and the reason for that break in stride at Tuesday's 2019 Pepsi North America Cup draw. TROT Magazine's Rachel Oenema interviewed Johansson after the draw.
The 36th edition of the Pepsi North America Cup will go postward at 10:14 p.m. (EDT) and will be broadcast live on TSN5 from 10-10:30 p.m. The full field for the 2019 Pepsi North America Cup is as follows:
2019 Pepsi North America Cup
(Post – Horse – Driver – Morning Line Odds)
1 – Aflame Hanover – Andrew McCarthy – 20-1
2 – De Los Cielos Deo – David Miller – 9-2
3 – Bettors Wish – Dexter Dunn – 7-2
4 – Workin Ona Mystery – Tim Tetrick – 2-1
5 – Captain Victorious – Yannick Gingras – 15-1
6 – Tyga Hanover – Sylvain Filion – 12-1
7 – Best In Show – Bob McClure – 15-1
8 – Captain Crunch – Scott Zeron – 5-2
9 – Hurrikane Emperor – Dan Dube – 15-1
10 – Stag Party – Brian Sears – 12-1
The winner of the Pepsi North America Cup earns $500,000. This year marks the 19th anniversary of Pepsi’s sponsorship of the race.
The Pepsi North America Cup undercard features the $454,000 Fan Hanover, $330,000 Roses Are Red, $256,000 Armbro Flight, $247,000 Goodtimes and $100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup.
The Cup card wagering menu will feature a $100,000 guaranteed Pick-5, $100,000 All-Stakes Pick-4 and the usual $50,000 Early Pick-4.
Post time for the first of 15 races on the Pepsi North America Cup card is 6:30 p.m. To view entries for Saturday's card, click on one of the following links:
Entries || Program Pages (TrackIT)