Milton, ON — Driver Louis-Philippe Roy circled Jimmy Freight to the lead and held off a first-over bid from McWicked to coast to a 1:48.1 victory in the C$100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup on Saturday (June 15) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Jimmy Freight coasted to a 1:48.1 victory in the C$100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup. USTA/Mark Hall photo.

Nirvana Seelster took the lead while Jimmy Freight tucked into the pocket and forced 1-5 favorite McWicked into third approaching a :26.4 opening quarter. Jimmy Freight soon brushed to the top and braced for a first-over move from McWicked heading to a :54.4 half.

McWicked gained slight ground on Jimmy Freight around the final turn and paced by his wheel past three-quarters in 1:21.2 but flattened out as Jimmy Freight maintained his speed through the stretch. Nirvana Seelster slipped from the pocket to give chase for second while McWicked settled for third.

“My strategy was going to go with what McWicked did; having him right behind me,” Roy said after the race. “I wanted him to come first up on me too. I know that (McWicked) is good that way too but that was the trip I imagined (I’d need) to beat him. It wasn’t until the middle of the stretch I (thought) we were there. All the credit goes to my horse. On the last turn he wanted to go by himself when he heard that horse coming — he was feeling so strong and never wanted that horse to come to his wheel.”

An Ontario bred owned by Adriano Sorella, Jimmy Freight paced a lifetime-best mile to collect his 19th victory while pushing his earnings to C$1,188,146. Richard Moreau trains the 4-year-old son of Sportswriter who returned $11.90 to win.

Editor’s Note: Click here for a video recap of the race.