Big Grand Circuit events at Northfield and Mohawk

Harness Racing This Week: Battle of Lake Erie, MGM Northfield Park, Northfield, Ohio, and North America Cup, Fan Hanover, Goodtimes, and Roses Are Red eliminations, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ontario.

Schedule of events: The $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie for open pacers will take place at MGM Northfield Park on Saturday (June 11).

Grand Circuit action will also take place on both Friday (June 10) and Saturday (June 11) at Woodbine Mohawk Park. On Friday, Mohawk will host a pair of C$30,000 Goodtimes eliminations for 3-year-old open trotters. Then on Saturday, a big card of Grand Circuit racing will be led by two C$50,000 eliminations in the North America Cup for 3-year-old pacing colts, along with two C$35,000 eliminations in the Fan Hanover for 3-year-old pacing fillies and two C$35,000 eliminations in the Roses Are Red for older pacing mares.

Entries for the Battle of Lake Erie can be found by clicking on this link. Complete entries for the Mohawk Park races can be found by clicking on this link.

Last Time: The Grand Circuit came storming into Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night (June 4) with a pair of Somebeachsomewhere divisions contested.

Kicking off a busy stretch of Grand Circuit racing in June, the Somebeachsomewhere divisions offered a mini preview of this Saturday’s (June 11) Pepsi North America Cup eliminations.

Top Cup contender Pebble Beach went coast to coast on the front to win the first $64,800 division in 1:51. Driver Todd McCarthy sent the Noel Daley trainee to the lead immediately and got full control, posting fractions of :27.1, :56.1 and 1:24.1 before a :26.4 kicker to secure the victory.

“I was pretty fortunate to get cheap (fractions),” said McCarthy. “Ideally I do like to race him off a helmet, having him out front there tonight I was a little concerned how he would be, but he finished up really strong and I was super happy with him.”

Kolby Two Step rallied to finish second, beat 2-3/4 lengths behind the winner. Sport Secret and Chucky Hanover completed the top four.

A son of Downbytheseaside, Pebble Beach picked up the first win of his 3-year-old season. Pebble Beach stamped himself as a pre-season Cup favorite following an 11-start rookie campaign that included seven wins, $361,250 earned and a mark of 1:48.4. He is owned by Patricia Stable, Joe Sbrocco, Country Club Acres and Laexpressfoderadeovolente.

Magical Arthur came out on top in a wild Somebeachsomewhere division for driver Trevor Henry and trainer Anthony Beaton.

Competing in a field of five, Magical Arthur and Henry blasted out to the lead, posting a :27.1 opening quarter. Favorite Stonebridge Helios and driver Bob McClure got away fifth and were on the move entering the backstretch. That move would send Beach Glass and driver Paul MacDonell out of the two-hole to come around, but the lead change wasn’t without some battle.

After hitting the half in :55, Beach Glass would be overtaken by Stonebridge Helios, who led by the third marker in 1:23. The top two would engage in a battle down the lane, but it was Magical Arthur that got the last laugh, powering by on the outside to win by a half-length over Beach Glass in 1:50.3. Stonebridge Helios was third, while Frozen Hanover was fourth.

A gelded son of Artspeak, Magical Arthur was winless in three starts this season prior to Saturday’s race. The homebred for David Lumsden now has four wins and $216,574 in earnings.

“Tonight, he had a chance to race and he proved he’s as good as them,” said Henry of Magical Arthur. “They are two nice horses and I thought I could get up for second, Bobby (McClure) was pecking at (Stonebridge Helios) at the head of the stretch and I thought I might get second, but I didn’t really think I could beat (Beach Glass), but he did.”

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2022, 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 2022 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 6-4-22):

Drivers: 1. Jordan Stratton – 151; 2. Dexter Dunn – 132; 3. Jason Bartlett – 126; 4. Yannick Gingras – 115; 5. George Brennan – 110.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 180; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 77; 3. Jen Bongiorno – 67; 4. Cory Stratton – 65; 5. Dave Dewhurst – 55.

Owners: 1. Jesmeral Stable – 62; 2. The OK Corral – 57; 3t. Mark Ford – 40; 3t. Team Tritton Inc. – 40; 5. Burke Racing Stable – 33.9.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will take place next week at Woodbine Mohawk Park, The Meadowlands and The Meadows. Mohawk will have the finals of the Pepsi North America Cup (3-year-old male pacers), Fan Hanover (3-year-old filly pacers), Goodtimes (3-year-old male trotters), Armbro Flight (older trotting mares) and Roses Are Red (older pacing mares); The Meadowlands will host the Tompkins-Geers for 2-year-olds of both sexes and gaits; and The Meadows will feature the Currier & Ives for 3-year-old open trotters.

by Paul Ramlow, for The Grand Circuit