CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Mohawk Racetrack presents an outstanding showcase of the Ontario Sires Stakes program on Saturday with $130,000 Gold Finals for the two-year-old and three-year-old pacing colts.
In last week’s elimination round Geartogear made short work of the opposition, and Clarksburg, NJ resident Ron Pierce is looking forward to the return trip to Campbellville to steer the three-year-old pacing colt from Post 6 in the seventh race.
“He handled the bunch he was in with last week, he just crushed them,” says Pierce. “It would take an awful good horse to beat him Saturday. He’s a serious colt and he’s awful good right now.”
The 1:52.3 elimination win was Geartogear’s first start in the Ontario Sires Stakes this season. The Nat Varty trainee spent most of the summer butting heads with the top colts in North America, winning an elimination of the Meadowlands Pace (July 10) and the Oliver Wendell Holmes Stake (Aug. 7) at The Meadowlands in New Jersey.
Following a fifth-place finish in the Aug. 14 Adios Final at The Meadows owners David and Terry Brooks, of Perfect World Enterprises in Old Westbury, NY, opted to give Geartogear a well deserved rest from the stakes trail. In preparation for last weekend’s Gold Elimination the Grinfromeartoear son started once at the Red Mile in Lexington, KY and Pierce was impressed with the difference in the young pacer.
“It was his first start in quite a while so we wanted to give him as easy a race as possible, still win the race, but make it easy for him,” says Pierce of the Sept. 25 victory. “I sat in as long as I could and then came second or third over and when I tipped out I had my hands full going in 1:50. He was extremely sharp.
“He’s an extremely fast horse, he just had some bad luck in the big (races).”
Pierce, North America’s leading driver, will be doing his best to buck that trend for Geartogear in Saturday’s $130,000 Gold Final.
Two races before Pierce takes to the stage with Geartogear, the two-year-old pacing colts will do battle in their own $130,000 Gold Final and trainer Ed Lohmeyer is hoping Pacific Admiral can build on the 1:52.2 elimination victory he scored last weekend.
“He was a little slow coming along, that was his first win the other night,” says Lohmeyer. “But he paced home real well.”
The Camluck son will take a run at another victory from Post 7 in the fifth race and Campbellville resident Chris Christoforou will be back in the race bike for Cream Ridge, NJ resident Lohmeyer and his partner John Stoddard of Pennington, NJ.
“I think he’s a nice colt, I don’t think he’s a great colt yet,” says the horseman. “Chris (Christoforou) has done a wonderful job bringing him along. I’m really happy with the way he has developed him.”
Like Geartogear, the elimination marked Pacific Admiral’s debut in the Ontario Sires Stakes program. He learned his early lessons in the non-winners of one race class at Woodbine before tackling the top colts in North America in the Champlain and Nassagaweya Stakes at Mohawk and has a record of one win and one second in seven starts.
While Lohmeyer would love for the gelding to make another trip to the Mohawk winner’s circle on Saturday, he is doubtful that Pacific Admiral can best the other elimination winner, Isle Of Patmos, from Post 6.
“There’s one colt in there that is very tough, he stands out, but the rest of them, (Pacific Admiral) can go with them,” says Lohmeyer. “And I’m not greedy. If I get a cheque I’ll be happy.”
Mohawk Racetrack’s first race goes postward at 7:40 pm on Saturday, with the pacing colts’ $130,000 Gold Finals featured in Races 5 and 7.