by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Ken Weingartner

Freehold, NJ — Mcboogie is one of the largest horses in trainer Julie Miller’s stable. If all goes well in Canada over the next two weekends, his stature could grow to match his size.

A homebred gelding owned by David Prushnok’s Andray Farm and David J. Miller of South Carolina, Mcboogie was among the 25 2-year-old pacers entered in Saturday’s eliminations for the Metro Pace at Mohawk Racetrack. The top three finishers from each of three elims, plus a fourth-place finisher drawn by lot, advance to the million-dollar final on September 3.

Mcboogie, who raced in Pennsylvania before heading to Ontario, has won two of four races and earned $42,844. Andy Miller, his regular driver and Julie Miller’s husband, will be at the lines in the Metro elim.

“He’s one of the biggest horses in the barn, but he’s a gentle giant,” Julie Miller said. “I call him ‘Ferdinand the Bull.’ He’s easy to be around and you can do anything with him.”

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Mcboogie was a 1:52 winner in a PA Sire Stakes event on July 21 at Harrah’s Chester.

A son of McArdle, out of the mare Banska Bela, Mcboogie is a half-brother to 2004 Ontario Sire Stakes standout Isle Of Patmos.

Mcboogie began his career with a 1:53.1 win against maidens at Harrah’s Chester before winning a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes in 1:52, also at Chester. His win time is tied for fourth fastest of the season for a 2-year-old on a five-eighths-mile track.

In his next start, Mcboogie finished second to 3-year-old Rhombus in 1:52.2. Then, on August 16 at The Meadows, he was third in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. He started from post eight and moved to the lead with an opening quarter-mile of :27.1. He held the top spot until the stretch before finishing a length back at the wire.

“I was still happy with that effort,” Julie Miller said. “I think he’s proved he deserves a chance to go to the Metro. I think the class is still pretty wide open, which seems to be proved by there being three eliminations.”

The Metro elims feature four of the top five finishers from the Woodrow Wilson Stakes at Meadowlands Racetrack, including winner Major Bombay and runner-up Simply Business, plus the winners of last week’s three Nassagaweya divisions at Mohawk — Speed Again, Special Blend and Hurrikane Kingcole.

Mcboogie’s Metro elim includes Special Blend and Hurrikane Kingcole. Mcboogie will start from post three.

“There’s a bunch of good ones up there and they’re going to go fast,” said owner David J. Miller, who is not related to Andy and Julie Miller. “We’ll just keep our fingers crossed. We drew good, so that was a big plus. We’ll see how it comes out. We’re looking forward to it. We’re hoping this guy hangs in there. He looks like the real deal to me.”

Miller, who is semi-retired from working in the food industry and selling commodities, has been involved in harness racing for nearly 40 years. This will be the second time he sees one of his horses in the Metro. The first time came in 2005 when Winslow Gambler was third in his elim and fourth in the final.

He knows Mcboogie heads to the Metro without the name recognition of some of the other contenders, but is unconcerned.

“That’s been our plan, I guess,” Miller said. “We didn’t want to mix it up too much early. If he does what we think he can, we think people will know about him shortly.”

Following are the Metro elimination fields in post position order, with listed drivers and trainers.

Elim One: 1. Escape The News, J. Moiseyev, J. Holloway; 2. Machapelo, S. Zeron, M. Keeling; 3. Simply Business, R. Pierce, J. Takter; 4. Major Bombay, B. Sears, T. Alagna; 5. Damon Blue Chip, T. Tetrick, B. Brown; 6. Red Carpet Dude, J. Jamieson, S. McDonald; 7. D Terminata, Ra. Waples, R. McIntosh; 8. Ideal Ike, D. Miller, E. Miller.

Elim Two: 1. Speed Again, J. Jamieson, J. Gillis; 2. I Fought Dalaw, D. Miller, S. DePinto; 3. Rockweiller, T. Tetrick, J. Takter; 4. Ideal Champ, B. Sears, J. Holloway; 5. Shakerattlenrock, S. Zeron, S. McEneny; 6. State Treasurer, P. MacDonell, I. Moore; 7. Dapper Dude, Ra. Waples, R. McIntosh; 8. Gable Blue Chip, R. Pierce, T. Umphrey.

Elim Three: 1. Mel Mara, Y. Gingras, T. Alagna; 2. Allstar Legend, T. Tetrick, B. Teague; 3. Mcboogie, A. Miller, J. Miller; 4. Special Blend, K. Oliver, B. Wallace; 5. Spinarama, P. MacDonell, I. Moore; 6. A Rocknroll Dance, R. Pierce, J. Mulinix; 7. Special Forces, D. Miller, B. Brown; 8. Hurrikane Kingcole, L. Ouellette, D. Tackoor; 9. Best Ears, S. Zeron, J. Takter.