by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Doug McNair really likes the horses he will drive in Friday’s C$300,000 Molson Pace and Saturday’s C$600,000 Upper Canada Cup. He is less enthusiastic about their starting spots.

Aracache Hanover will leave from post No. 7 in the eight-horse Molson Pace for older pacers at The Raceway at Western Fair District in Ontario. Secretsoftheknight fared even worse in the draw for the Upper Canada Cup for 3-year-old Ontario-sired pacers, getting post No. 9 in the nine-horse field.

“It’s a big weekend coming up,” McNair said, adding with a laugh, “Everything is good, except for the post positions.”

Iron Horse photo

Aracache Hanover and Doug McNair held off a persistent Foiled Again to capture the second Molson Pace elim.

Last week, Aracache Hanover won his elimination for the Molson Pace by three-quarters of a length over defending champion Foiled Again in 1:51. No Molson Pace final has ever gone faster than 1:51.1 around Western Fair’s half-mile oval. That stakes record was set in 2008 by Eagle Luck.

Foiled Again is one of three horses in this year’s final trained by Ron Burke. The others are elimination winner Clear Vision and Atochia. Foiled Again is the 2-1 morning line favorite. Aracache Hanover is 9-2.

“He went a monster mile last week and he’s a half-mile specialist,” McNair said about Aracache Hanover. “The only thing we’re worried about is the post position, but that’s horseracing, I guess. I don’t know how the race is going to shape up; it’s tough to say.

“Burke has three (horses) in there that all look pretty competitive; definitely Foiled Again is probably one of the best horses in the world. I don’t know how the race is going to unfold. That’s what makes for a good race and a better betting race. It’s kind of wide open. I’d have loved to have the rail, but that’s the way it goes.”

Aracache Hanover has won 19 of 64 career races and $1.12 million for trainer Gregg McNair, Doug’s father, and owners William Switala and James Martin. His biggest victories so far both came on half-mile tracks, in the 2010 Confederation Cup at Flamboro Downs and the 2010 Windy City Pace at Maywood Park.

“He’s got high-end speed and he can pace the turns just as fast as the straightaways,” McNair said.

“Foiled Again is another horse, like Aracache, that’s great on a half. He’s one of the toughest racehorses I’ve ever watched in my time. It’s a big thrill to line up against one like him and to have one that’s competitive enough to take him on.”

New Image Media photo

Secretsoftheknight has banked $150,365 in his career.

Secretsoftheknight heads into the Upper Canada Cup off a 1:51.1 win in his elimination race last weekend at Georgian Downs. He won by four lengths over Rebel Jet, pacing the final quarter-mile in :26.4 seconds.

“He won under wraps,” McNair said. “I think he could have won in (1):50 or better; he could’ve won by as much as he needed to go. We drew the nine hole with him, but he’s a handy horse and we’ll hope for the best. I think he’s one of the best in there. I think there are four or five competitive colts in there, if not nine. It’s a good field.”

Also trained by Gregg McNair, Secretsoftheknight won four of 14 races and $124,365 last year. His Upper Canada Cup elim victory was his first triumph in four starts this season, but he finished second twice.

He closed last year by winning three of his final four races, including the Ontario Sire Stakes Grassroots Series title. The son of Mach Three-Doc’s Reward is owned by Tony Lawrence, Leonard Gamble, John Newell and Graham Hopkins.

“Last year, dad liked him at the start of the year,” McNair said. “I don’t know if he wasn’t trying; he’d throw one good race in and then go two bad ones. They definitely did a good job with him. It’s unbelievable how much he’s changed from last year to this year. They’ve got him staked heavy.”

The 22-year-old McNair, who was hampered last year by a broken hand, became the youngest driver to 1,000 career wins in 2010. Last season, he was the leading driver for Western Fair’s winter meet and this year he was fifth in the standings at Woodbine. He has won 106 races and $1.75 million so far this year.

He equated getting to race at the sport’s top level to watching hockey as a kid and then getting to play in the NHL.

“Everyone dreams of being there and now you’re there,” McNair said. “It’s like living the dream, really. It’s going great, especially at my age.

“It couldn’t have gone any better so far.”