CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Mohawk Racetrack hosts an exciting evening of Ontario Sires Stakes action Monday when the three-year-old pacing colts return for their $130,000 Gold Series Final and are joined by the three-year-old trotting fillies in two Gold Eliminations.
The trotting fillies open the 7:40 pm program with reigning Gold Final winner Wanabeamillionaire looking for her fourth win of the season from Post 2. Fans can expect the Mr Lavec daughter and driver Jack Moiseyev to be looking for the front end early and trying to hold off a field of challengers that includes division co-leader For The Luva Moni from Post 1.
“She’s a big mare, very good gaited, and she leaves the gate very fast. I think of those fillies she is the fastest off the gate,” says Scott McEneny, who trains the filly for Robert Waxman of Ancaster. “She gets a little faint at the wire, but she’s getting better now that it’s getting colder.”
Wanabeamillionaire used her front end speed to capture the Oct. 5 Gold Final at Flamboro Downs, hanging on for the neck victory over the other division co-leader Wescott. Since an operation to correct a throat problem in mid-summer, McEneny has altered the filly’s racing strategy, encouraging drivers to control the pace rather than sit further back and sprint for home.
“Last year she raced from a hole all the time and she was better, but because of the throat operation, now that she’s left a few times we don’t try to take too much of a hold on her,” explains the Waterdown resident. “We just let her float out and she gets enough respect on the front that she can get the fractions backed off a little.”
The other Gold Elimination goes postward in the second race, with Wescott looking for her fourth Gold Series Elimination from Post 4.
Three races later the exciting three-year-old pacing colts will rev things up at the Campbellville oval in the last Gold Series Final of their careers and Winning Breed will be hoping to overcome Post 9 to score his second $130,000 win of the season.
“Well, when you’re the best you can overcome that,” says Ed Perry with an ironic chuckle. “You have to be positive, right?”
After last week’s 1:53.4 elimination win, Perry and his partners Betty Roberts of Little Britain and Bruce Woodrow of Woodville were feeling more positive than they had in several weeks. Since capturing the July 11 Gold Final at Flamboro Downs the Albert Albert son has struggled, hitting the board in just three of seven starts, and they were hopeful that another inside post would put him in the running for a sizeable chunk of Monday’s provincial pie.
“We had a bit of bad luck in the last few races, so we were hoping he would bounce back and show us what he did before,” says the Milton resident. “We were hoping for an inside post, but there will be lots of speed inside us, that’s for sure.”
Winning Breed heads into Monday’s contest at the top of the division standings, so he will return to Mohawk Racetrack on Nov. 8 for the $300,000 Super Final before wrapping up his three-year-old campaign.
“We probably should have kept him eligible to a couple of other stakes, but when the payments were due in March, well the colt looked all right, but he didn’t look like the kind of colt he’s turned out to be,” says Perry of the $198,914 winner. “I’ve had a couple of decent colts over the years, but I think I’ve had more fun with this one. Every time I buy something cheap it usually turns out better than the ones I pay a lot of money for.”
Mike Wade trains Winning Breed for Perry and his partners, and Paul MacDonell will return to the race bike for Monday’s battle.
Mohawk Racetrack opens its Monday evening program at 7:40 pm with two Gold Eliminations for the three-year-old trotting fillies, the top five finishers from each returning next week (Oct. 27) for their $130,000 Final, and showcases the talented three-year-old pacing colts in Gold Final action in Race 5.