by Mark McKelvie, for WEG Communications
Campbellville, ON — Many of the best 2-year-old trotters in the sport will be converging on Mohawk Racetrack this Monday (Sept. 11) for the William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way Stakes eliminations. Each event requires two C$30,000 eliminations to determine the fields for the finals on Monday (Sept. 18).
The Wellwood Memorial has attracted 19 colts and geldings, while 18 fillies will battle in the Peaceful Way eliminations.
Trainer Jimmy Takter will be front and center with the leading trotter in each event.
Muscle Hill colt You Know You Do headlines the Wellwood eliminations. The Peter Haughton winner starts from post three in the second split (race eight) for Takter and driver Yannick Gingras.
A winner of C$253,872, You Know You Do is four-for-six with a mark of 1:54.2. The $350,000 yearling purchase most recently captured a division of the Champlain Stakes on Sept. 1 at Mohawk.
The second elimination also includes Ben Baillargeon trainee Alarm Detector. The son of Chapter Seven suffered his first defeat when he finished second to You Know You Do in the Champlain.
Alarm Detector, a $110,000 Harrisburg yearling purchase, is four-for-five with C$61,870 earned. Trevor Henry will steer the Baillargeon trainee from post five against eight other rivals.
Lawmaker (post two, Anthony MacDonald), the runner-up in last Sunday’s Pennsylvania Sires Stakes championship, and Levitation (post eight, Doug McNair), an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold winner, are two of the other notables in the field.
The first elimination (race five) will see a very competitive field of 10 competing.
The Takter barn will send out a strong duo in the first split, as Samo Different Day (post two, Gingras) and Maxus (post 10, Gingras) will seek a spot in the rich final.
A son of Cantab Hall, Samo Different Day is just one-for-six, but has hit the board in five of those starts and banked C$126,747. Maxus, a son of Muscle Hill, also has just one victory, but has earned a check in all seven of his starts to carry earnings of C$77,325 into Monday’s contest.
The second highest earner in the first elimination is Paul Reid trainee Winning American (post five, Jody Jamieson). The son of Kadabra is still a maiden, but has finished second in three-of-four starts to bring his earnings to C$100,060.
Another notable in the first elimination is Cruising In Style (post one, Jason Bartlett), a New York Sires Stakes winner. The Amy MacDonald trainee is two-for-six with five top three finishes and earnings of C$52,240.
The top five finishers in each Wellwood split will advance to the C$400,000 final.
Following in a long line of talented trotting fillies before her, Manchego appears to be the next big thing from the Takter barn.
The daughter of Muscle Hill is six-for-six with C$335,898 earned heading into Monday’s Peaceful Way eliminations. A $120,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase, Manchego has victories in the Jim Doherty Memorial and Pennsylvania Sires Stakes Championship to her name.
The Takter star will start from post two in race two and will have Gingras in the sulky.
The first Peaceful Way elimination also features Pure Ivory and Champlain winner Courtney Hanover. Trainer/driver Rick Zeron will send out the daughter of Cantab Hall from post six. Courtney Hanover is three-for-six with C$71,570 earned.
The second elimination is carded as race three and is headlined by Explosive Matter filly Phaetosive. The Trond Smedshammer trained rookie is two-for-three with C$103,565 banked. Phaetosive has drawn the outside post nine and will be making her first start since finishing second to Manchego in the Doherty Memorial on Aug. 5.
The Zeron barn will also be represented in the second split, as Champlain winner Atlanta starts from post eight. The daughter of Chapter Seven is on a two-race win streak and is two-for-five overall with C$55,025 earned.
The top five finishers in each Peaceful Way elimination will advance to the C$375,000 final.
Post time for Monday’s card is 7:30 p.m. A program proof for the Wellwood and Peaceful Way eliminations can be viewed by clicking here.
The Mohawk Terrace Dining Room will be open for the Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way finals on Monday (Sept. 18). A special buffet will be offered for $22.95 and reservations can be made by calling 1.888.675.7223.