Points North hangs on in $36,000 Preferred

Points North (Somebeachsomewhere) held on by a head in the $36,000 Preferred at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday (Nov. 18) to win a top-level harness racing event for the first time since 2020.

He reached the front in a :26.3 first panel and strung out the field to the half in :54.1 with only Poseidon Seelster (Bob McClure) remaining in range. Sylvain Filion loosened the lines on Points North to three-quarters in 1:21.4 with Poseidon Seelster right on his back. The pocket-sitter moved out coming down the lane, and he gained rapidly in the last 1/16th of a mile, but Points North kept his head in front to score in 1:50. Emmetts Buddy (Tyler Borth) was third.

POINTS NORTH REPLAY

Points North surpassed $900,000 in earnings with the win, his 42nd in 192 lifetime. His last Preferred victory came in October 2020. Carmen Auciello trains the eight-year-old gelding for Jim Winske of Marlborough and David Winske of Hudson.

Woodbine Mohawk Park also hosted the second legs of the Ontario-sired Harvest Series for three-year-old colts and geldings with two divisions for each gait. Both first division winners were repeaters: Nothingbutadreamer (Muscle Mass, James MacDonald) won his fifth straight in 1:55 for trainer Harry Poulton and The Stable in the first trotting group, while Leave It To Luther (Betterthancheddar, MacDonald) persisted after a first-up march to take the first pacing split in 1:53.

Cactustotheclouds (Alarm Detector, Trevor Henry) nailed Stonebridge Bomber (Louis-Philippe Roy) at the wire to win the second trotting division by a head in 1:55.4. In the second pacing group, Arizona Jackson (Betterthancheddar, Jonathan Drury) rocketed down the stretch, passing four horses to defeat his opponents in 1:53.4.

After the first race, the track held a retirement ceremony for Sintra (Mach Three), who won 37 times at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The gelding, the 2017 O’Brien Award recipient for Older Pacing Horse, was 48-for-145 in his career and earned more than $1.6 million. He finished his career with The Stable and was returned to his original trainer and co-owner, Dave Menary, after the ceremony.

Racing will return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7:10 p.m. EST.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink