by Jeff Renton, media/communications, Woodbine Entertainment Group

Campbellville, ON — Invitro will be taking on the boys for the first time in her career on Saturday evening at Mohawk, as a seven horse field has been drawn for the C$50,000 Open Pace (Race 10, 10:28 p.m.).

WEG Photo

Roses Are Red champion Invitro will try her luck against the boys in Mohawk’s Open.

The brown four-year-old daughter of Camluck has drawn the rail, will have regular pilot Paul MacDonell at her lines and has been instilled as the 7-2 third choice in the morning line. WEG’s 2004 Three-Year-Old Pacing Filly and Horse of the Year has made five starts so far at four, compiling a 3-1-1 record in the process, banking $191,671. The 19-time career winner captured the C$364,000 Roses Are Red at Mohawk on July 2 and has had one start since — a two and a half length length tally in 1:51.4 in a Fillies and Mares Open on July 15 over the Campbellville oval. A homebred of Cobourg, Ontario’s Gord Irwin (who also trains) and Norwood, Ontario’s Murray Ross, Invitro will need to bring her ‘A-game’ on Saturday after a brief layoff, as a compact, yet solid, field has been assembled. The career $1.1 million earner will start directly beside Jr Mint, rated the 5-2 favourite in the morning line.

Trainer Jack Darling, who owns the son of Northern Luck along with London, Ontario’s Dan Smith, has enlisted Jody Jamieson to perform the driving duties. Jr Mint is sharp right now and is making his third consecutive class jump. He took his mark of 1:49.3 last week at Mohawk in the Preferred Pace, going a wire-to-wire mile en route to the one and three-quarter length victory.

Sand Olls Dexter (post six, Mark MacDonald, 4-1), an eight-year-old son of Dexter Nukes and a two-time Gold Cup and Saucer winner, currently has $815,410 in overall purses for Ontario-based owners John Kwiatkoski, Petrina Lawrence and trainer Daryl Roberts. After a two-race win streak in early July, Sand Olls Dexter jumped up to the Open level, where he finished sixth and fourth on July 16 and 23, respectively.

Tigerama (post seven, Phil Hudon, 3-1), who finished just three-quarters of a length back in third to Ponder in the C$831,000 Canadian Pacing Derby, has drawn the outside post for trainer Richard Griffiths and has been deemed the second choice in the early odds. The five-year-old son of Village Jiffy is a homebred of Exeter, Ontario’s Robert Hamather and has failed to hit the board in his two starts since his Canadian Pacing Derby performance. The $416,578 career earner finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in Opens carded on July 16 and 23.

The complete field is as follows:

PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Line
1 – Invitro – P. MacDonell – G. Irwin – 7-2
2 – Jr Mint – J. Jamieson – J. Darling – 5-2
3 – J M Terror – S. Charlton – S. Charlton – 7-1
4 – Stonebridge Galaxy – R. Zeron – R. Zeron – 7-1
5 – Rapid Dialing – S. Condren – S. Forbes – 8-1
6 – Sand Olls Dexter – Ma. MacDonald – D. Roberts – 4-1
7 – Tigerama – Ph. Hudon – R. Griffiths – 3-1