NA Cup elims complete; Roses Are Red, Fan Hanover fields drawn

The eliminations for three Grand Circuit harness racing events – the Pepsi North America Cup, the Roses Are Red, and the Fan Hanover – were contested on Saturday (Jun. 11) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Below is a recap of each race, along with the $65,000 Free-for-All Pace.

Race 4 – $50,000 Pepsi North America Cup XXXIX first elimination

Pebble Beach (Downbytheseaside), the top-listed horse in the Road to the North America Cup rankings, met expectations with a tough first-over victory in the first North America Cup elimination.

The Noel Daley pupil allowed three foes to pass going into the first turn and remained fourth for Todd McCarthy through first-half fractions of :27 and :55.1 as Night Hawk (Dave Miller) brushed to the top. Pebble Beach got underway on the backstretch and swept up uncovered to challenge going to the three-quarter mile marker in 1:23.1.

Night Hawk dug in as they came down the stretch, but Pebble Beach was too powerful to resist and pushed clear to win in 1:49.4. Night Hawk finished second. Mad Max Hanover (Tim Tetrick) finished third over Frozen Hanover (Louis-Philippe Roy) and Kolby Two Step (James MacDonald), who were fourth and fifth, respectively.

PEBBLE BEACH REPLAY

“He’s such a cool horse to be around and he’s got a lot of characteristics and he’s a lot of fun to drive,” said McCarthy after the win. “So full credit to Noel and the team. They’re doing a terrific job with him and he’s a lot of fun to sit behind right now.”

Pebble Beach has won two of three outings this season, including last week’s Somebeachsomewhere Stakes. The colt is nine-for-14 lifetime and has brought in $431,750 for the ownership group of Patricia Stable, Joe Sbrocco, Country Club Acres, and Laexpressfoderadeovolente. He was third in the Breeders Crown and won the Kentucky Sire Stake Championship at two.

Race 8 – $50,000 Pepsi North America Cup XXXIX second elimination

Beach Glass (Somebeachsomewhere) lowered his lifetime mark as he notched his first win of the season in the second elimination.

Yannick Gingras, taking over driving duties from Paul MacDonell, sent the colt forward from post eight to acquire the top spot just after hitting the quarter in :26.3. After middle splits of :55.2 and 1:23.3, he paced home in :27.2 while holding off I Did It Myway (Tetrick) for the win in 1:51. Ario Hanover (Miller) swept from eighth to third. Ron (Jody Jamieson) kicked home slightly slower and finished fourth. Fourever Boy (Mike Wilder) took the final qualifying spot.

BEACH GLASS REPLAY

Beach Glass, campaigning for the same connections of Somebeachsomewhere, has won four of his seven career starts and has amassed a bankroll of $80,750. Brent MacGrath trains the colt for the Schooner Stable of Truro.

​“He was good,” said MacGrath in an on-track interview. “He’s a very green horse. Yannick said he was waiting on the horses a little bit, and he had to shake him up. We were feeling that was happening in the last couple of starts. He really needed this race bad and he needed to get stretched out like he did there tonight and woke up a little bit.

​“I told Yannick a little bit about that, that he would fire up quickly and then settle down. He’s got the open bridle on him, he’s seeing a bunch of stuff; seeing the tote board lit up, it’s different, all those things are different for him. We’re happy we geared him up the way we did, that might have made him and Yannick a little uncomfortable for a second, but it worked out good. He could relax good on the front end and got a quarter in :28.4. Whenever you end up getting on the muscle and aggressive, you could pace that quarter probably in :27.4 and it might have been somebody else standing here.”

The $1,000,000 Pepsi North America Cup, for sophomore pacing colts and geldings, will consist of the top five finishers from each elimination. It will be contested on Saturday, Jun. 18. The post positions for Canada’s most prestigious race will be drawn on Tuesday, Jun. 14.

Race 6 – $35,000 Roses Are Red first elimination

Reigning Horse of the Year Test Of Faith (Art Major) lived up to her 1/9 billing and romped in the opening elimination of the Roses Are Red.

Miller delayed an attempt at the front to the backstretch, slotting in third for the :27.2 first split from the pylon post. The four-year-old mare then completed a second-quarter brush before putting up a first-half time of :56. She got away with a pressure-free third panel, which was finished in 1:23.2, and cruised to victory by two-and-a-half lengths in 1:49.4.

So Much More (MacDonald) was the placegetter. Amazing Dream N (Todd McCarthy) reached up for third over Awesome Hill (Trevor Henry). Dabarndawgswatchin (Jamieson) finished fifth.

TEST OF FAITH REPLAY

It was Test Of Faith’s second win of the year in four tries. Brett Pelling conditions the mare for owners Marvin Segal of Charlotte, Kentuckiana Racing Stable, and Eddie Gran of Lexington. The 2021 Breeders Crown Champion now has a bankroll of $1,610,814 in 29 lifetime appearances, 24 of which have been wins.

​“She’s a champion, she’s just one of those horses a lot of people wait a lifetime to have. We’re blessed that we’ve had some great horses. She’s fabulous, everything about her is just glorious,” said Pelling after the race.

​“We raced her at the Meadowlands three weeks ago and I didn’t think she was airborne through the wire like she normally is. We found a bit of a problem with her and we feel we fixed it and that’s why she was off. She’s such a professional, she could come off 30 days it wouldn’t matter. She is so graceful; I enjoy watching her myself and  being around her.”

Race 7 – $35,000 Roses Are Red second elimination

Lyons Sentinel (Captaintreacherous), the defending Roses Are Red champion, unleashed a stretch burst to score in the second group at 1/5 odds.

The James King-trained five-year-old traveled fifth through a :27.3 quarter and :55.2 half before Tetrick swung her to the outside at three-quarters in 1:23.1. She entered the lane with five foes to pass, and she rallied by them all to win by half of a length in 1:50.1. She beat Kobes Gigi (Miller), who got by Gias Surreal (Bob McClure) for second. Fire Start Hanover (Dexter Dunn) was just behind in fourth. Lit De Rose (Roy) finished fifth.

LYONS SENTINEL REPLAY

​“I thought she was just outstanding,” King said following the race. “When it comes time she goes by them. She’s pretty special, we’re looking forward to a really nice year. She belongs to some people who absolutely love this game and they need something like this.

Lyons Sentinel, the 2021 Older Pacing Mare of the Year in the U.S. and Canada, has won two in a row going into the final after a Fillies and Mares Open score at The Meadowlands last week. In 50 lifetime starts, she has won 24 times and has earned $2,216,227. Threelyonsracing of Brantford owns the mare.

The line up for the $350,000E final that will go forward on Saturday, Jun. 18 is listed below:

​1 – So Much More by Big Jim
​2 – Test Of Faith by Art Major
​3 – Lyons Sentinel by Captaintreacherous
​4 – Lit De Rose by Leader Bayama
​5 – Dabarndawgswatchin by Hes Watching
​6 – Fire Start Hanover by Somebeachsomewhere
​7 – Awesome Hill by Sunshine Beach
​8 – Kobes Gigi by JK Endofanera
​9 – Gias Surreal by So Surreal
​10 – Amazing Dream N by Bettors Delight
​AE – Karma Seelster by Sportswriter

Race 2 – $35,000 Fan Hanover first elimination

Treacherous Dragon’s (Captaintreacherous) second-quarter brush was the decisive move in the first Fan Hanover elimination split.

After taking up the three-hole through the :26 opening quarter, reinsman Tetrick ordered backstretch speed and got the filly to the front before hitting the half in :55.3. The gas pedal stayed down to three-quarters in 1:23.1, and Treacherous Dragon had enough left to hold off a group of closers and seal the victory in 1:50.2.

Prohibition Legal (MacDonald), Sea Silk (Chris Page), and Boudoir Hanover (McCarthy) finished second, third, and fourth respectively. Smuggle Tina (Miller) secured the last spot in the final by finishing fifth.

TREACHEROUS DRAGON REPLAY

Treacherous Dragon is now perfect through four starts in 2022 heading into the $450,000E final. Brett Pelling trains the filly for Hot Lead Farm of Allentown. She has earned $376,420 and won eight times in 14 lifetime tries.

“She’s grown up a lot,” said Tetrick post-race. “Brett and his connections really took a wait and see approach last year at two and let her come into herself. This year we’re being a bit more aggressive with her and she’s getting the job done, that’s for sure.

​“Her best game isn’t on the front, she’s really lazy. Turning for home and she sees them coming she digs in really well.”

Race 3 – $35,000 Fan Hanover second elimination

Silver Label (Bettors Delight) overcame a backside shuffle with a seventh-to-first stretch rush to capture the second division.

MacDonald placed the filly fourth for the opening half of :27.1 and :56 splits and held position as three rivals moved up on the outside from behind her. She was pinned in seventh as the field went through three-quarters in 1:23.2, but MacDonald found a path to the outside in mid-stretch for the filly to uncork her pace and explode late to score in 1:50.4.

Wickedly Innocent (Todd McCarthy) finished second over Lyons Serenity (Tetrick). Queen Of Success (Andrew McCarthy) was fourth, and Free To Be Me (Dunn) got up for fifth.

SILVER LABEL REPLAY

The winner, a Nick Gallucci trainee, kicked off her season in stakes-winning style with a victory in the $147,575 SBOA Stakes. She finished fifth in last week’s Ontario Sires Stakes Gold and is now two-for-three this year. The Millar Farms homebred’s overall record is eight-for-11 with $441,809 in earnings. The 1:50.4 clocking lowered her career mark by two fifths.

​“She’s had a couple of tough trips (in her first two starts this year) she didn’t deserve a third,” said MacDonald in his post-race interview. “That’s what great horses do; they bounce back. I didn’t want to be hard on her tonight, I rolled the dice and got lucky. I rode the fence and slid out mid pack, Todd (McCarthy on Wickedly Innocent) was advancing quick enough that I could slide out on his back. ​ Sometimes you don’t have the best trip, you need a little bit of racing luck.”

The final is set for Saturday, Jun. 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

The field for the final is as follows:

1 – Wickedly Innocent by American Ideal
​2 – Prohibition Legal by Big Jim
​3 – Treacherous Dragon by Captaintreacherous
​4 – Silver Label by Bettor’s Delight
​5 – Lyons Serenity by Sweet Lou
​6 – Sea Silk by Downbytheseaside
​7 – Queen Of Success by Captaintreacherous
​8 – Smuggle Tina by Captaintreacherous
​9 – Boudoir Hanover by Captaintreacherous
​10 – Free To Be Me by Always B Miki

Race 5 – $65,000 Free-for-All Pace

Bulldog Hanover (Shadow Play) was beastly in a five-length Free-For-All score.

He pulled out from fifth on the backstretch for Jamieson after a :26.3 opening panel and blasted forward, going three-wide to nullify Allywag Hanover’s (McCarthy) re-take attempt and claim the lead after hitting the half in :55.2.

The four-year-old stallion began to distance himself from the rest as he kicked away to three-quarters in 1:21.4. He widened the gap further down the stretch and soared home to finish an impressive 1:48.2 romp. Allywag Hanover finished second. Little Rocket Man (Yannick Gingras) took home the show cheque.

BULLDOG HANOVER REPLAY

Bulldog Hanover became harness racing’s newest millionaire with the win, increasing his earnings to $1,027,441. He is currently pulling double duty as a stallion and has won three of four this season, including a leg of the Graduate Series. John Darling trains him for Jack Darling Stables of Cambridge and Brad Grant of Milton. The horse is 17-for-25 lifetime.

For complete race results, click here.

by Nicholas Barnsdale, for Harnesslink