Grand Circuit action this week at Mohawk Park

Harness Racing This Week: William Wellwood and Peaceful Way finals; Casual Breeze, Nassagaweya, and Eternal Camnation; and Maple Leaf Trot eliminations, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ont.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit racing will take place at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday (Aug. 23) and Saturday (Aug. 24).

The Friday program has a lone division in the C$140,000 Casual Breeze for 3-year-old filly trotters and a pair of C$50,000 Maple Leaf Trot eliminations for older trotters.

The lucrative Saturday card features the C$575,000 William Wellwood Memorial final for 2-year-old male trotters and the C$390,000 Peaceful Way final for 2-year-old filly trotters. Also on Saturday is a single division in the C$230,000 Nassagaweya for 2-year-old male pacers and two divisions in the C$220,000 Eternal Camnation for 2-year-old filly pacers.

Complete entries for the races are available at this link.

Last Time: Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous-Angelou) moved to the outside from the pocket coming off the final turn and got to favorite Legendary Hanover just prior to the wire to win Saturday’s (Aug. 17) $300,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial for 3-year-old pacers by a nose in 1:48.3 at Mohegan Pennsylvania’s Pocono Downs. Gem Quality finished third.

Driver Todd McCarthy and Captain Albano got to the front in a :27.1 opening quarter as Legendary Hanover, who got off the gate in fourth from post seven, pressed forward in a bid for the lead. Legendary Hanover, the 1-5 favorite, finally cleared Captain Albano heading to the second turn and reached the half in :55.1 and three-quarters in 1:22.1.

Captain Albano, sent off at odds of 10-1, came home with a :26.1 last panel to notch his third victory in a row, following wins in his Adios elimination on July 20 and the Adios final on July 27.

“Everything sort of really went to plan in the first quarter for me and I was sort of content to follow (Legendary Hanover),” McCarthy said. “When he came, I just wanted to keep the speed on a little bit and make him step around, but I didn’t want to do too much, as well.

“Coming off the (last) turn my horse felt really good. I probably went a little bit earlier than normal, but it’s not quite as long a stretch here as some of the bigger tracks that he’s used to, so I wanted to get him out and going.”

Captain Albano, the 2023 Dan Patch Award winner for 2-year-old male pacers, has won five of nine races this season and 12 of 18 in his career, good for earnings of $929,195. The Noel Daley trainee has finished worse than third only once.

“Earlier on in the year, things just weren’t going our way,” McCarthy said. “I sort of wanted to drive him a little more forward after that.

“He showed his heart, and his determination and Noel has had the horse spot on all year. He’s just been an absolute pleasure to drive.”

Captain Albano is owned by Patricia Stable, L.A. Express Stable, Sjoblom Racing, and Michael Dolan and was bred by Frederick Hertrich III.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2024 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2024, the Grand Circuit leaders in three categories (driver, trainer and owner) will once again be tracked on a points system (20-10-5 for the top three finishers in divisions/finals and 10-5-2 for the top three finishers in eliminations/legs). Winbak Farms is the sponsor for the 2024 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 8-17-24):

Drivers: 1. Dexter Dunn – 660; 2. Yannick Gingras – 545.5; 3. David Miller – 384; 4. Scott Zeron – 330; 5. Tim Tetrick – 312.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 598; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 419; 3. Nancy Takter – 303; 4. Noel Daley – 217; 5. Travis Alexander – 199.

Owners: 1. Burke Racing Stable – 132.7; 2. Weaver Bruscemi – 108.9; 3. Caviart Farms – 89.2; 4. Ake Svanstedt Inc. – 67.5; 5. Determination – 65.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will again be taking place next week at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The track will host the Maple Leaf Trot final for older trotters, the Canadian Pacing Derby for older pacers, and Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old male and female trotters.

by Paul Ramlow, for the Grand Circuit