This Week: North America Cup, Fan Hanover, Goodtimes, Roses Are Red and Armbro Flight finals, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ontario; Currier & Ives, The Meadows, Washington, Pa.; and Graduate Series leg, The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, N.J.

Schedule of events: A top-flight card of Grand Circuit racing will take place on Saturday (June 17) at Woodbine Mohawk Park and will be led by the C$1,000,000 Pepsi North America Cup for 3-year-old pacing colts. Also on tap are the C$420,000 Fan Hanover for 3-year-old pacing fillies, the C$305,000 Roses Are Red for older pacing mares, the C$250,000 Goodtimes for 3-year-old male trotters, and the C$210,000 Armbro Flight for older trotting mares.

Also on Saturday, The Meadows will offer two divisions in the Currier & Ives for 3-year-old male trotters.

On Friday (June 16), The Meadowlands will host two $50,000 divisions of the second leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old pacers and a single $50,000 division in the second leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old trotters.

Entries for the Meadows and Meadowlands races can be found by clicking on this link. Entries for the Mohawk Park races can be found by clicking on this link.

Last Time: Many storylines were in play leading to Saturday’s (June 10) Battle of Lake Erie. The most significant storyline of the week happened to be Lauren Tritton, as she would try to become not only the first female to participate in Northfield’s storied event but the first to win it. Tritton proved naysayers of her talent wrong with a heart-stopping performance, scoring an impressive win with Lochinvar Art A.

Lochinvar Art A drew off to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:50. Casalinova photo.

The race was immediately turned on its head with Backstreet Shadow (Matt Kakaley) making a break before the start. As the gate opened, Ruthless Hanover (George Napolitano Jr.) left alertly down the center of the racetrack with Leonidas A (Austin Siegelman) and Little Rocket Man (John De Long) trying to defend inside position. Still, as they entered the first turn, Ruthless Hanover got rough momentarily, made a break, and was taken out of contention.

With the race’s complexion changing, Leonidas A inherited the lead with This Is The Plan (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) avoiding trouble in second. Getting to the quarter in :26.4, Siegelman would try to get a breather, but Little Rocket Man immediately began to apply pressure after tipping from third, bringing Lochinvar Art A with him.

“I didn’t necessarily want to be parked out from the quarter but knew I had to get off the pylons,” said an ecstatic Tritton.

Getting to the half in :54.2, Leonidas A was up by three-quarters of a length, with Little Rocket Man continuing to grind first over. The field was double-tiered, with four in and four out heading into the clubhouse turn for the final time. Not much changed into the backstretch, and heading to three-quarters Tritton tipped Lochinvar Art A three deep as Little Rocket Man began to back through the field.

At three-quarters in 1:21.4, Leonidas A braced for the challenge of Lochinvar Art A but was overtaken at the head of the lane. Lochinvar Art A got to the lead and through the stretch drew off to win by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:50. Charlie May closed strongly to be second, while Leonidas A tired and finished third.

“It was all him tonight, he was getting tired on the corner a little bit, and he just kicked into another gear,” said Tritton. “He’s a champion.”

Husband Shane echoed her sentiments: “The horse is so great; we have been waiting for this moment since being in the country.”

Shane Tritton credited his wife’s drive for the victory: “I’m so proud of her; I wouldn’t be here without her.”

Owned by Team Tritton Inc., Lochinvar Art A set a new lifetime mark with the win and pushed his career earnings to $1,285,493.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2023 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 6-10-23):

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 166; 2. Dexter Dunn – 150; 3t. Jordan Stratton – 127; 3t. Scott Zeron – 127; 5. Matt Kakaley – 110.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 132; 2. Linda Toscano – 130; 3. Jeff Gillis – 102; 4. Ake Svanstedt – 87; 5. Jared Bako – 74.

Owners: 1. Mark Ford – 98; 2. Team Tritton Inc. – 52; 3. Jesmeral Stable – 47; 4. Robert Di Nozzi – 39; 5. 1362313 Ontario Ltd. – 37.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Yonkers Raceway, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Yonkers will have eliminations for a pair of Triple Crown races, the MGM Yonkers Trot for 3-year-old open trotters and the MGM Grand Messenger for 3-year-old open pacers; The Meadowlands will feature the third leg of the Graduate Series for 4-year-old pacers and trotters and the Miss Versatility for older trotting mares; and The Meadows will have the Currier & Ives for 3-year-old filly trotters.