by Lou Monaco, for the Hambletonian Society
East Rutherford, NJ — Saturday’s (Aug. 5) two Hambletonian elimination races include two horses with identical morning-line odds and a driver on each looking for their first Hambo crown ever. The 8-1 shot Seven And Seven, driven by Mark MacDonald and trained by Tom Durand, will leave from post two in a field of 10 in the Hambletonian’s second elimination heat (race nine). Seven And Seven has not raced since June 17, where he finished third in the $183,230 Goodtimes Final at Mohawk Racetrack to eventual winner and Hambletonian favorite International Moni.
“He is a pretty resilient horse. He will go with them and right now he is training really good,” said Durand, who is participating in his third Hambletonian, having finished second in the 2011 final with Whiskey Tax and eighth in an elimination with Roughing It in 1990.
“In the Goodtimes, he was spooked at the start of the race but driver David Miller said he was really impressed with how he responded and he had a ton of horse left. The qualifier last week at Mohawk was good, but it was a bit disappointing because, I wanted to test the horse out on the front end, and he didn’t want anything of it, so we won’t be sending him out to the lead on Saturday.”
With Miller opting for What The Hill out of post one and Brian Sears driving Dover Dan from post five, MacDonald will drive. MacDonald drove in his first Hambletonian heat last year and finished sixth with Reigning Moni, missing the final by one spot.
“To make the final and possibly win it would be the culmination of something we have worked for a very long time,” said Durand via phone call Wednesday. “He has been training like a monster, especially his last time out on Tuesday, he shifted gears like that and is right on the bit. He is going to give it his all I know that.”
Another 8-1 shot, Jake, will leave from post nine in a field of nine in Saturday’s first Hambletonian heat (race eight).
Trained by Luc Blais, Daniel Dube will drive.
Blais, a native of Lochaber Ouest, Quebec and who is seeking his first Hambletonian champion, is coming off a solid year in which he ranked fifth in Canada’s trainer earnings with $1.78 million.
The 55-year-old Blais had worked with a number of stakes winners at Yves Filion’s Bayama Farms in Quebec before starting his own stable. His best-known recent successes include two-time O’Brien Award-winning trotter Intimidate and Ontario Sire Stakes champion trotter Emoticon Hanover.
Dube’s last drive in a Hambo heat was with Workout Wonder in 2015, finishing sixth. Dube did drive Make It Happen to a third-place Hambo final finish in 2008.
“He raced good the last time out and I think he will be all right coming from the outside post,” Dube said via phone call Wednesday. “I can do whatever I want with him. In these eliminations, you need a little bit of racing luck to make the final. We just have to get there.”
Dube finished second with Jake in a $15,000 race on July 29th.
“This is the best race. I can’t explain it. For us to get to the final and have a chance to win, it would mean a lot to me and a dream come true,” Dube said.
Following are the Hambletonian fields.
Hambletonian elimination (race eight)
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Line
1-Southwind Woody-Matt Kakaley-Ron Burke-12/1
2-Bill’s Man-Corey Callahan-John Butenschoen-5/1
3-Guardian Angel As-Jason Bartlett-Anette Lorentzon-10/1
4-Giveitgasandgo-David Miller-John Butenschoen-8/1
5-International Moni-Scott Zeron-Frank Antonacci-5/2
6-Stealth Hanover-Francisco Del Cid-Francisco Del Cid-30/1
7-Victor Gio IT-Yannick Gingras-Jimmy Takter-6/1
8-Long Tom-Tim Tetrick-Marcus Melander-3/1
9-Jake-Dan Dube-Luc Blais-8/1
Hambletonian elimination (race nine)
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Line
1-What The Hill-David Miller-Ron Burke-3/1
2-Seven And Seven-Mark MacDonald-Tom Durand-8/1
3-Sortie-Andy McCarthy-Noel Daley-10/1
4-Shake It Off Lindy-Brett Miller-Frank Antonacci-20/1
5-Dover Dan-Brian Sears-John Butenschoen-8/1
6-Enterprise-Tim Tetrick-Marcus Melander-9/2
7-Southwind Cobra-Matt Kakaley-Ron Burke-15/1
8-Achille Duharas-Yannick Gingras-Jimmy Takter-20/1
9-Devious Man-Andy Miller-Julie Miller-5/2
10-Perfect Spirit-Ake Svanstedt-Ake Svanstedt-12/1
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