Busy Grand Circuit week ahead

Harness Racing This Week: Delaware Grand Circuit, Delaware County Fair, Delaware, Ohio; Harrah’s Hoosier Park Grand Circuit, Hoosier Park, Anderson, Ind.; Mohawk Million, Metro, She’s A Great Lady, Canadian Trotting Classic and Elegantimage, Woodbine Mohawk Park, Milton, Ontario; and Reynolds Memorial, Tioga Downs, Nichols, N.Y.

Schedule of events: Grand Circuit action kicks into full gear on Wednesday (Sept. 20) at Delaware with the $305,000 Jugette for 3-year-old filly pacers, the $88,000 Buckette for 3-year-old filly trotters, the $40,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old filly trotters and the $40,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old filly pacers. The Thursday (Sept. 21) card at Delaware is highlighted by the $1 million Little Brown Jug for 3-year-old pacers. Also on tap that day is the $90,000 Miss Versatility final for older trotting mares, the $100,000 Old Oaken Bucket for 3-year-old open trotters, the $40,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old colt pacers and the $50,000 Standardbred for 2-year-old colt trotters.

Grand Circuit racing at Hoosier Park will be held on Friday (Sept. 22) with the $260,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management stakes for 2-year-old filly trotters, the $200,000 Kentuckiana Stallion Management stakes for 2-year-old filly pacers, the $210,000 Caesars Trotting Classic for Open trotters, the $175,000 Hoosier Park Pacing Derby for Open pacers, the $127,500 Jenna’s Beach Boy for 3-year-old colt pacers, the $152,000 Moni Maker for 3-year-old filly trotters, the $110,000 Elevation for 2-year-old colt pacers, the $100,000 Madison County for 2-year-old colt trotters and the $100,000 Phil Langley Memorial for 3-year-old male trotters.

Also on Friday, Tioga Downs hosts two divisions in the $78,200 Reynolds Memorial for 2-year-old male trotters, two divisions in the $77,800 Reynolds Memorial for 2-year-old filly trotters, two divisions in the $77,500 Reynolds Memorial for 2-year-old male pacers and two divisions in the $70,500 Reynolds Memorial for 2-year-old filly pacers.

Grand Circuit action at Woodbine Mohawk will be held on Saturday (Sept. 23) with the C$1 million Mohawk Million for 2-year-old open trotters, the C$970,000 Metro final for 2-year-old open pacers, the C$540,000 She’s A Great Lady for 2-year-old filly pacers, the C$660,000 Canadian Trotting Classic for 3-year-old open trotters and the C$381,000 Elegantimage for 3-year-old filly trotters.

Complete entries for the races at the U.S. tracks are available here. Entries for the Woodbine Mohawk Park races are available here.

Last time: Grace Hill, sent off as the 4-5 choice, was simply spectacular in the C$220,000 Milton Stakes, for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, Saturday night (Sept. 16) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

Off since a snappy 1:49.4 score at Scioto Downs on Aug. 25, 5-year-old Grace Hill (Always B Miki-Western Silk) paced back in the spotlight under the bright lights at the Milton oval off a pair of qualifiers and delivered one of the finest performances in her decorated career.

Boudoir Hanover, leaving from the outside post nine, blasted off the wings and crossed over to grab a short-lived lead into the first turn, but Silver Label forged on to seize control just before an opening panel timed in a lively :25.4. Doug McNair, in rein to Grace Hill, sized up the pacesetter from in third.

It was Silver Label still calling the shots on the front end through a half-mile in :54.1, followed by Boudoir Hanover, Grace Hill and Prohibition Legal. McNair then tipped her out, and set their sights on Silver Label, inching closer with every step to the outside. A neck on top at three-quarters in 1:21.3, Grace Hill was in full flight as the field straightened for the drive home.

Ahead by 1-1/2 lengths at the stretch call, the Breeders Crown winner bounded home in :26.2 to notch a comfortable two-length triumph in a time of 1:48. Prohibition Legal was second, Boudoir Hanover, at 65-1, was third and Mikala was fourth.

“She’s a fun mare to drive, she’s just like driving a sports car,” lauded McNair. “I drove (Silver Label) last week, and she got beat by her stablemate from off her helmet, so I figured if I didn’t put mine on the front in a big hurry with her, she can sprint as fast as anything. When you’re first-up against a great mare on the front with a real nice one on my back, it wasn’t the ideal spot, but she made it look pretty easy.

“I maybe just raced her wrong a couple times at The Meadowlands, she finished second and third. To be honest, I think she races better chasing. She won one time sitting last at the head of the stretch coming a :25 final quarter. It’s just tough to take your chances that way and run into traffic. Tonight, we got to sit quite a way and when I moved her, she was really good.”

Owned by Tom Hill, it was the latest victory for the bay, who now boasts a 27-10-5 record, including six wins from seven appearances at Mohawk, from 57 starts, to go along with over C$1.7 million in career purse earnings.

“I don’t know if she just loves Canada or not, but she sure feels like a different horse on this track,” noted McNair. “She seems to not get tired and she’s a lot of fun.”

The well-travelled mare, trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., is now 8-2-1 from 11 starts on the campaign.

Bred by White Birch Farm, Grace Hill, a $75,000 purchase at the 2019 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, paid $3.60 for the win.

Complete recaps of all the races are available at the Grand Circuit website. For a list of 2023 race winners on the Grand Circuit, click here.

Grand Circuit Standings: In 2023, 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 2023 Grand Circuit awards.

Here are the leaders (through the races on 9-16-23):

Drivers: 1. Yannick Gingras – 654; 2. Dexter Dunn – 602; 3. Tim Tetrick – 531; 4. Scott Zeron – 460; 5. David Miller – 459.

Trainers: 1. Ron Burke – 781; 2. Ake Svanstedt – 584; 3. Tony Alagna – 356; 4. Nancy Takter – 343; 5. Marcus Melander – 266.

Owners: 1. Diamond Creek Racing – 220.1; 2. Burke Racing Stable – 157.2; 3. Mark Ford – 148; 4. Hudson Standardbred Stable – 143.3; 5. Brad Grant – 111.5.

Looking ahead: Grand Circuit action will be taking place next week at Lexington’s historic Red Mile. There will be eight Bluegrass stakes for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes and gaits. Hollywood Dayton Raceway will also be hosting four Grand Circuit events, the Dayton Pacing Derby, the Dayton Distaff Derby, the Dayton Trotting Derby and the Dayton Oaks Derby for older Standardbreds.

by Paul Ramlow, for The Grand Circuit