Trainer Brian Brown dropped perhaps the bombshell of the 2019 Pepsi North America Cup Post Draw when he stated that elimination winner and morning line favourite Workin Ona Mystery was in Lexington, Ky. at that very moment receiving treatment in a hyperbaric chamber for sickness.
According to Brown, that should mean a healthier 2019 North America Cup contender come Saturday.
Workin Ona Mystery (PP4, Tim Tetrick, 2-1) is heading into the Cup final having won eight of his nine career starts and boasting a mark of 1:49 mark, which was taken during his Cup elim. After having started from Post 9 in his elim, Workin Ona Mystery shot to the lead for driver Tim Tetrick. The duo landed on the point after the opening quarter and led the rest of the way. The duo ultimately hit the wire first, one and one quarter lengths ahead of Captain Victorious. (Click here to watch/hide the video replay.)
Workin Ona Mystery, who is a son of 2013 North America Cup winner Captaintreacherous, has been perfect thus far in his three-year-old campaign. He had prepped for his Cup elim by recording victories in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes dashes. The most recent of the PASS performances came at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, where Workin Ona Mystery was a wrapped-up, 1:49.3 winner. The colt is owned by Diamond Creek Racing (of Wellsville, PA), the Stambaugh Leeman Stable (Wauseon, OH), Alan Keith (Johnstown, OH) and Wingfield Brothers LLC (Kenton, OH).
Brown has been one of harness racing's hottest trainers in this race over its past few editions as his last three North America Cup starters have all finished in the top three. Fear The Dragon gave Brown his NA Cup win in 2017 over stablemate Downbytheseaside (third), with Done Well finishing second in 2018. The Ohio-based conditioner provided an update on Workin Ona Mystery and his thoughts on this Saturday's final in this interview with TROT Magazine's Rachel Oenema at Tuesday's 2019 Pepsi North America Cup 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)