by Paul Ramlow, publicity director, the Grand Circuit

This Week: Jim Ewart Memorial and Chip Noble Memorial, Scioto Downs, Columbus, Ohio; Miss Versatility and Kindergarten Series, Meadowlands Racetrack, East Rutherford, N.J.; Champlain Stakes and Simcoe Stakes and Maple Leaf Trot, Canadian Trotting Classic, Elegantimage, William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way eliminations, Mohawk Racetrack, Campbellville, Ontario.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action kicks off on Thursday (Sept. 8) at Mohawk with a pair of C$30,000 eliminations in the Peaceful Way for 2-year-old filly trotters. The Friday (Sept. 9) card features a pair of C$35,000 eliminations in the Elegantimage for 3-year-old filly trotters and two C$30,000 eliminations in the William Wellwood Memorial for 2-year-old colt trotters. The big Saturday (Sept. 10) card is highlighted by two divisions in the C$210,632 Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old filly pacers, two divisions in the C$210,948 Champlain Stakes for 2-year-old colt pacers, and the C$204,040 Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old colt pacers, along with two C$40,000 eliminations in both the Maple Leaf Trot for older trotters and the Canadian Trotting Classic for 3-year-old trotters.

Grand Circuit racing at the Meadowlands opens Friday (Sept. 9) with a $40,000 leg of the Miss Versatility for trotting mares, as well three $10,000 divisions in the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old filly trotters and two $10,000 divisions in the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old colt trotters. On Saturday (Sept. 10) the Meadowlands will offer two $10,000 divisions in the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old colt pacers and a single 10,000 contest in the Kindergarten Series for 2-year-old filly pacers.

Also on Saturday, Scioto Downs will host the $225,000 Jim Ewart Memorial for older pacers and the $100,000 Chip Noble Memorial for older trotters.

Complete entries for the races at the U.S. tracks are available at this link. Entries for the Mohawk races are available at this link.

Last time: Despite a spectacular steer by Dan Daley and Smalltownthrowdown tossing down the gauntlet, Hambletonian victor and 1-5 favorite Marion Marauder withstood the late heroics of that rival to win the second jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown, the $500,000 Yonkers Trot, by a diminishing head in 1:56.1 on Saturday (Sept. 3) at Yonkers Raceway. After a valiant first-over effort, Lagerfeld followed that duo home in third.

Mike Lizzi photo

Marion Marauder (No. 4) held off Smalltownthrowdown by a head to win the Yonkers Trot.

The Hambletonian winner set rather leisurely fractions of :58.3 and 1:27.4 with a distance of 1-1/2 lengths between himself and Smalltownthrowdown at the top of the lane. While the other five members of the field appeared outdistanced and convinced that Marion Marauder would assert command on his way to the wire, Lagerfeld and Mark MacDonald pulled from third position to come first over.

While Lagerfeld was never allowed to clear and the son of Yankee Glide was safely held at bay, he trotted very gamely to apply light pressure through the stretch, as Daley and Smalltownthrowdown stepped towards the inside to launch a furious bid for victory.

Those witnessing the contest surely had an anxious moment as Smalldownthrowdown nearly dethroned the champion, but Scott Zeron confidently handled Marion Marauder and the colt collected his eighth win from 10 seasonal starts and his ninth lifetime triumph. He has banked $1,124,905 in 2016 and $1,406,891 lifetime.

Owned by Marion Wellwood and Devin Keeling, Marion Marauder is conditioned by Wellwood’s daughter Paula and her husband Mike Keeling.

Immediately after Marion Marauder was on his way back to the barn, it was Racing Hill’s turn to add a classic victory to his resume. Tom Hill’s homebred son of Roll With Joe-Chasing Ideals was the overwhelming 1-9 favorite against six foes after Manny was a late scratch in the $500,000 Messenger Stakes, the second event in the Pacing Triple Crown, but like Marion Marauder, his victory was not as resounding as those witnessing the contest had anticipated.

Commencing his journey from post three, Miller employed tactics similar to Zeron’s in the previous race on the card, as he moved his horse from third onto the lead near the quarter marker, overhauling his stablemate Dr J Hanover.

From there, Miller and the Adios winner paced around the half-mile track in fractions of :56 and 1:25 after a :27.3 opening first fraction, with Racing Hill’s lead never extending beyond two lengths. Despite the final surges of 30-1 Stonebridge Beach and Daniel Dube, as well as Zeron behind Dr J Hanover, Racing Hill repelled their advances to stop the clock in 1:53 and post a 1-1/4 length triumph.

Conditioned by Tony Alagna, the colt collected his fifth win of the season to establish a stellar seasonal slate of 11-5-5-1, and eclipsed the $1 million mark in money earned in 2016.

Wiggle It Jiggleit, driven by Montrell Teague, front-stepped his way to victory in the $474,320 Canadian Pacing Derby on Saturday at Mohawk. The 4-year-old gelding stopped the clock in 1:49 en route to his 35th victory in 46 lifetime starts.

As Wiggle It Jiggleit surged to the lead, Always B Miki was hot on his heels. The 7-5 bettor’s choice held position into the first turn, posting a flashy :25.3 opening panel, which forced Always B Miki to drop into third behind a second-sitting Nickle Bag.

Wiggle It Jiggleit then continued to march past the half in :54.1, which is when Always B Miki and driver David Miller made another bid for the lead. The son of Mr Wiggles began to open up on the field after they paced by the three-quarters in 1:21.4.

No one could catch Wiggle It Jiggleit in the stretch, which secured his wire-to-wire victory by 1-3/4 lengths. Always B Miki stayed for second, while Dealt A Winner, at odds of 112-1, rallied for third.

The Clyde Francis trainee is now 12-5-2 in 19 starts this season and with the win, Wiggle It Jiggleit boasts $3,481,582 in career earnings for owners George Teague Jr. Inc. and Teague Racing Partnership.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2016, 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 Farm is the sponsor for the 2016 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the current leaders:

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 814.5; 2. Tim Tetrick – 618.5; 3. David Miller – 598; 4. Brett Miller – 313.5; 5. Matt Kakaley – 291.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 806.5; 2. Jimmy Takter – 688.5; 3.Tony Alagna – 306; 4. Ake Svanstedt – 251; 5. Linda Toscano – 220.

Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 190.67; 2. Tom Hill – 167; 3. Weaver Bruscemi – 157.52; 4.Harry von Knoblauch – 149.5; 5. Marvin Katz – 129.5.

Looking ahead: Another busy schedule of Grand Circuit racing will be taking place next week at Mohawk and the Meadowlands. Mohawk will host finals in the Maple Leaf Trot, the Canadian Trotting Classic, the Elegantimage, the Peaceful Way and the William Wellwood Memorial, plus eliminations in the Milton for older pacing mares. The Meadowlands will card another leg of the Kindergarten Series for freshman trotters and pacers.