by Mark McKelvie, WEG Communications

Campbellville, ON — Rookies were in the spotlight all night on Thursday (Aug. 11) at Mohawk Racetrack, including a compact group of six trotting colts competing in the second leg of the Define The World Series.

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Jake held off Seven And Seven to win the second leg of the Define The World Series.

Tom Durand trainee Seven And Seven used an impressive :55.4 back half to win the first leg and promptly was made the heavy 1-5 favorite in Thursday’s second leg. However, Luc Blais trainee Jake, who missed the first leg due to sickness, got in the way of another Seven And Seven victory.

Driven by Sylvain Filion, Jake got a two-hole trip behind stablemate Awol Hanover, who cut out fractions of :29, :59 and 1:28.1. Trainer/driver Durand sat fourth throughout the early stages with Seven And Seven, before making a move up to third nearing the three-quarter pole.

Turning for home, Seven And Seven was five lengths from the front, while Jake was just a pair behind Awol Hanover. In the stretch, Jake was able to overtake the lead in the final eighth and went toe-to-toe with Seven And Seven in deep stretch, ultimately holding off the favorite by a head for a 1:56.2 victory. Awol Hanover finished third to give his trainer two-thirds of the top three.

A son of Muscle Hill, Jake was purchased for $100,000 at last fall’s Standardbred Horse Sale by Determination of Montreal, Quebec. The Blais student finished third in his career debut on July 19 and was making his second start on Thursday.

Jake is a full brother to 4-year-old Lookslikeachpndale, who has earned $155,530 during his career and also is trained by Blais. A $2 win ticket on Jake returned $15.40.

The series final of the Define The World will take place next Thursday (Aug. 18).

Also on Thursday, the tote board exploded in the evening’s sixth race, as claiming pacer Sports Vision and driver Jason Ryan pulled off an upset victory at 106-1 odds. The Scott Friend trained 4-year-old rallied from eighth at the three-quarter pole to get up and win by a nose.

Sports Vision paid $214.40 to win, $52.10 to place and $26.10 to show. He was making his first start Thursday on the WEG Circuit since April 21 and sported a 2016 record of two wins from 15 starts.

The sixth race was the third leg of the Early Pick-4. The first leg was captured by the favorite, but the final three legs were won by horses at odds of 9-1, 106-1 and 24-1. A 20-cent winning ticket on the Early Pick-4 paid $3,226.70. The total pool was $52,057.

Live racing continues Friday night at Mohawk. Post time for the 11-race card is 7:30 p.m.