by Mark McKelvie, for WEG Communications

Campbellville, ON — Many eyes were focused on Control The Moment in his season debut last Saturday (June 4) and although he didn’t win, the son of Well Said certainly made some noise.

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Control The Moment seeks to add the Pepsi North America Cup to his already impressive resume.

The Brad Maxwell trainee paced a mile in 1:49 with a :26 final-quarter in his season debut to finish second to Lyons Snyder in a division of the Somebeachsomewhere. If it’s possible to make a statement without winning, Control The Moment certainly put the sophomore division on notice with his big effort right out of the gate.

“He raced extremely well,” said driver Randy Waples. “But I mean that was only his first start of the year and he’s going to need a couple of starts before he is right on his game. That’s the kind of horse he is, he’s able to do that kind of stuff, so I was pretty happy with him.”

Control The Moment not at the top of his game is very good, which could still strike some fear into his competition in anticipation of when he reaches his top level. However, the son of Well Said is on a tight schedule to reach his ‘A’ game with the Pepsi North America Cup eliminations Saturday night (June 11).

Waples is hopeful Control The Moment’s pure talent will carry him through the next few weeks.

“He doesn’t have much time left, so I’m hoping the natural athleticism shows up and he starts winning races in the next week or two,” he said. “It is a tough division, but if he is what he is supposed to be then he’s going to have to face them at some point anyway. I just figure he’s one of the tough ones as well.”

Last year’s O’Brien Award winner and Metro Pace champion will need to be ready for a fight in Saturday’s (June 11) Cup elimination. Control The Moment drew into arguably the tougher of two eliminations against the likes of Lyons Snyder, Betting Line and Check Six.

Control The Moment has a favorable starting spot in post three for the Cup elimination.

The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup final. Needing to be in the top five to qualify for the final is less pressure than being in the top three, as in recent years, but Waples believes the impact of only two eliminations is felt in the draw for the final.

“Even with the two divisions if you don’t win and you don’t get to pick your post, there is only really going to be two good posts gone, probably the two or three, the three or the four,” said Waples. “So that is going to leave lots of opportunities to maybe get lucky and draw a good post.”

Control The Moment enters the Cup eliminations with an impressive career resume of eight wins in 10 starts and earnings of over C$480,000. The talented son of Well Said recently acquired a new group of owners, as Tara Hills Stud Ltd. purchased a piece of the O’Brien Award winner.

The Maxwell trainee will look to bring Cup success to the newly formed Control The Moment Stable starting with Saturday’s (June 11) elimination.

Here are the fields for the Pepsi North America Cup eliminations.

1st Elimination – Race 5

1. Highlandbeachycove (Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna)
2. Check Six (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)
3. Control The Moment (Randy Waples – Brad Maxwell)
4. Lyons Snyder (Sylvain Filion – Mark Silva)
5. Beast Mode (Trevor Henry – Christopher Nicol)
6. Betting Line (David Miller – Casie Coleman)
7. Im Some Graduate (John Campbell – Tom Cancelliere)
8. Ideal Rocky (Corey Callahan – John Butenschoen)
9. Racing Hill (Brett Miller – Tony Alagna)

2nd Elimination – Race 7

1. Nocturnal Bluechip (Paul MacDonell – Mark Steacy)
2. Boston Red Rocks (Tim Tetrick – Steve Elliott)
3. Brookdale Sonny (Mike Saftic – Dr. Ian Moore)
4. Nvestment Bluechip (Jody Jamieson – Dave Menary)
5. Michaels Victory (Sylvain Filion – Mark Silva)
6. Big Top Hanover (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)
7. Manhattan Beach (David Miller – Ron Burke)
8. American Passport (Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna)
9. Magnum J (Doug McNair – Gregg McNair)