Griff one to watch in Mohawk Million

Jeff Thomson’s 2-year-old grandson Griffin is too young to understand harness racing but old enough to know his name. So, when Griffin was shown a replay of 2-year-old male trotter Griff (Muscle Mass-Renegade Magic) winning a race earlier this season, he was enthralled.

“He had to get mom to show it to him several more times because he could hear his name being called in the race,” Thomson said. “He thought that was pretty cool.”

The next cool moment for Griffin, Griff, and the horse’s connections arrives Saturday. Griff, bred by Thomson and his wife, Lori, will compete in the Mohawk Million for 2-year-old trotters at Woodbine Mohawk Park after receiving a spot in the buy-in race courtesy of Anders Strom’s Courant Inc.

Griff and driver James MacDonald, who coincidentally has a son named Griffin, will start from post four in the field of 10 for trainer Murray Brethour. The Mohawk Million lineup also includes William Wellwood Memorial champion T C I and Peaceful Way winner Drawn Impression, who is one of four fillies in the race.

Entry to the Mohawk Million was secured by purchasing a starting spot for C$100,000 by Feb. 15. Nine slots were sold, with the 10th going to the winner of the Wellwood. Slots could be sold, traded, or leased prior to the race’s entry date.

“We want to thank Anders Strom, Peter Weisberg, and Anthony Marcou for giving us this amazing opportunity,” Thomson said. “Without it, we definitely wouldn’t be in the race. For a very small breeder like us to have a horse that’s good enough to get noticed by them and have the opportunity to race in this race is very exciting for us.

“Hopefully, he does us proud.”

Griff, owned by the Thomsons, Brethour, and Kyle Northover, has won two of four races, including an Ontario Sire Stakes Gold division in 1:54.4 from post eight at Mohawk on Sept. 5. That time is the fastest of the season for a 2-year-old gelding trotter in Canada.

“He came out of the clouds to do it,” Thomson said about Griff, who was more than 15 lengths behind at the opening quarter and still eight back at three-quarters. “He came the last quarter in :27.1 and swooped them. He was pretty impressive that night.”

In his two losses, Griff has gone off stride, including in his most recent start in the Champlain Stakes on Sept. 14 at Mohawk with Sylvain Filion in the sulky.

“We put the trotting hobbles on after (he made a break in his career debut),” Thomson said. “We thought we had the problem rectified, and then he did this. But Sylvain said he was hitting the bike, so hopefully that was the issue. It would have been nice if he stayed flat last time to see what he could do, but that’s trotters.”

Thomson said Griff is Brethour’s only trotter, so the horse trained down with pacers. He believes that has contributed to the horse’s style of racing, which has seen Griff no closer to the lead than sixth place at the top of the stretch in any start.

“He trained with pacers all winter and was always taken back, and then closing with them (in the stretch),” Thomson said. “He’s a big strong colt and he seems to like to pass horses.”

The Thomsons’ connection to Griff goes back two decades to the mare Sennas Image. Her first foal for the Thomsons was Renegade Ruby, the dam of Griff’s mother Renegade Magic, who was a multiple winner on the Ontario-sired circuit and finished third in an elimination of the 2017 Armbro Flight behind Hannelore Hanover and Emoticon Hanover. She earned nearly C$300,000.

Lori Thomson is the granddaughter of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Famer Allan Walker.

“I’d never been to a horserace until I met her 40 years ago,” Jeff Thomson said. “Her family was in the business and that’s how I got started in it.”

Now, the family will turn its attention to Griff in the Mohawk Million. T C I is the race’s 9-5 morning-line favorite and will leave from post eight with David Miller driving for trainer Ron Burke. Drawn Impression is 2-1 and starts from post five with Louis-Phillippe Roy in the sulky for trainer Luc Blais.

“Let’s face it, it’s a very tough field,” Thomson said. “We’re just hoping for the best. We hope he behaves himself and is competitive and has that late kick at the end. Murray has been patient with him. He’s the kind of trainer that would rather have a good one in September than in June or July. He’s really done a good job with him.”

The Mohawk Million is race nine on a stakes-heavy card at Mohawk. There also is the C$970,000 Metro Pace for 2-year-old pacers, C$660,000 Canadian Trotting Classic for 3-year-olds, C$540,000 She’s A Great Lady for 2-year-old female pacers, and C$381,000 Elegantimage for 3-year-old female trotters.

Legendary Hanover, unbeaten in six races, is the 8-5 favorite in the Metro while elimination winners Celebrity Bambino (9-5) and Up Your Deo (5-2) are the top choices in the Canadian Trotting Classic. Elim winners Caviart Belle (9-5) and Its A Love Thing (3-1) also get top honors in the She’s A Great Lady while Delmonica Hanover Stakes winner Bond, who missed by a neck in the Hambletonian Oaks, is 9-5 in the Elegantimage.

Racing begins at 7:10 p.m. (EDT) at Mohawk. For free programs, visit the track’s website.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA