Big Grand Circuit Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park
June 13, 2018,by Paul Ramlow, publicity director, the Grand Circuit
This Week: North America Cup, Fan Hanover, Roses Are Red, Goodtimes and Armbro Flight finals, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ontario.
Schedule of events: The Grand Circuit spotlight will be on Woodbine Mohawk Park this weekend as the Ontario oval hosts five lucrative stakes finals on Saturday night (June 16) led by the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup for 3-year-old colt pacers. Also on the card will be the C$415,000 Fan Hanover for 3-year-old filly pacers, the C$370,000 Roses Are Red for older mare pacers, the C$266,000 Goodtimes for 3-year-old colt trotters and the C$250,000 Armbro Flight for older mare trotters.
Complete entries for the Mohawk races can be found by clicking on this link.
Last time: Homicide Hunter and driver Aaron Merriman moved to the lead following the halfway point of Saturday’s (June 9) Charlie Hill Memorial and never looked back, winning the $200,000 event for older trotters by 4-1/2 lengths over In Secret in 1:50.3 on a track labeled good at Eldorado Scioto Downs. Charmed Life finished third.
USTA/Mark Hall photo
Homicide Hunter was a 1:50.3 winner in the Charlie Hill Memorial.
The winning time equaled the world record for an older gelding trotter on a five-eighths-mile track and was a stakes and track record.
Defending champion Crazy Wow and two-time Dan Patch Award-winner Marion Marauder were scratched sick, reducing the field to seven horses. Race favorite Will Take Charge went off stride at the start and finished sixth.
I Know My Chip took the early lead in a :26.3 opening quarter-mile before seeing Smalltownthrowdown get the top spot prior to the half-mile point. Driver Sam Widger moved I Know My Chip back to the lead at the half, reached in :54.2, but faced pressure from Homicide Hunter, who was in front by the time he reached three-quarters in 1:22.
Homicide Hunter is a 6-year-old gelding by Mr Cantab out of Evening Prayer. He is owned by Crawford Farms Racing of New York and trained by Chris Oakes. The horse was bred by Patrick Graham.
For the year, Homicide Hunter has won two of three races and earned $116,500. For his career, he has won 32 of 65 starts and banked $1.22 million.
Complete recaps of the weekend races are available at the Grand Circuit website.
Grand Circuit Standings: In 2018, 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 2018 Grand Circuit awards.
Here are the leaders following the past weekend.
Drivers: 1. Tim Tetrick – 311; 2. Yannick Gingras – 211; 3. Jordan Stratton – 154; 4. Jason Bartlett – 139; 5. David Miller – 82.5.
Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 238; 2. Peter Tritton – 122; 3. Jim King Jr. – 121; 4. Jimmy Takter – 85; 5. Richard Banca – 75.
Owners: 1. Vonknoblauch Stable – 107; 2t. Burke Racing Stable – 57.9; 2t. Weaver Bruscemi – 57.9; 4. Richard Poillucci – 56; 5. Jo Ann Looney-King – 50.
Looking ahead: Next weekend will see Grand Circuit action taking place at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with eliminations for the Ben Franklin (older pacers), Earl Beal Memorial (3-year-old colt trotters), Max Hempt Memorial (3-year-old colt pacers) and James Lynch (3-year-old filly pacers) on Saturday (June 23).
- Wolfgang aims to cook up Goodtimes win (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)
Wolfgang will try to continue his rise among Hambletonian Stakes contenders when he faces nine rivals in Saturday’s C$266,000 Goodtimes Stakes at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Goodtimes is one of the stakes stops on the road to August’s $1.2 million Hambletonian, which is the sport’s premier race for 3-year-old trotters.
- Post positions drawn for Pepsi North America Cup (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)
The C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup final takes place Saturday (June 16) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. This past Saturday’s three elimination winners (Lather Up, Stay Hungry and Wes Delight) earned the right to select their post positions for the final. The post position draw took place Tuesday afternoon.
- Wes Delight part of ‘deep group’ in Pepsi North America Cup (Wednesday, June 13, 2018)
Trainer Mark Harder says Saturday’s Pepsi North America Cup might lack a prohibitive favorite, but it does not suffer from a lack of talent. “Just because there’s not a standout doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of good horses,” said Harder, who will send out Wes Delight in the C$1 million event for 3-year-old male pacers at Woodbine Mohawk Park. “There is probably a bunch of them that can win it. No one is running away from anybody, I don’t think. It’s a deep group.”
- Hannelore Hanover looks for record Armbro Flight win (Thursday, June 14, 2018)
The 2016 Armbro Flight Stakes can be looked upon as Hannelore Hanover’s coming-out party, and in the two years that followed she went from an intriguing newcomer among older female trotters to the sport’s reigning queen. Last year, Hannelore Hanover captured Horse of the Year honors in both the U.S. and Canada. On Saturday, she goes for an unprecedented third consecutive win in the Armbo Flight when she faces nine rivals in the C$250,000 race for older female trotters at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The 6-year-old mare, unbeaten in three starts this season, is the 2-5 morning-line favorite.
- Johansson’s stakes ladies ready to go (Friday, June 15, 2018)
Trainer Nancy Johansson is happy with Fan Hanover favorite Kissin In The Sand and Roses Are Red contender L A Delight as those female pacers prepare for their races Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Kissin In The Sand enters the Fan Hanover, for 3-year-old filly pacers, off a 1-1/4 length win over I’m Trigger Happy and Shower Play in her elimination last week. She is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the field of 10. L A Delight heads to the Roses Are Red, for pacing mares, off a second-place finish to Blazin Britches in her elimination. She is 8-1 in the final.
- NA Cup has familiar feel for ‘Hayden’ (Friday, June 15, 2018)
It’s like déjà vu all over again for the connections of Hayden Hanover as they prepare to watch their colt in Saturday’s C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Julie Miller-trained Hayden Hanover finished third last week in his North America Cup elimination, which was won by Stay Hungry, and will start Saturday’s final from post No. 9. His elimination finish and draw for the final were nearly identical to his trip to Mohawk in September for the Metro Pace, when Hayden Hanover finished third in an elimination won by Stay Hungry and started the final from post No. 10.
- Field of characters to battle in Cup (Friday, June 15, 2018)
Every trainer’s path to the Pepsi North America Cup is an interesting journey. Long hours, tough decisions, fast horses, slow horses and disappointing races is part of the business. But having a dream is what keeps many barns ticking. For most the dream is finding the horse that’ll take them to the highest level.