DUNDAS, ON — When faced with the task of trying to compare the siblings he will harness on Confederation Cup day at Flamboro Downs, trainer Bob McIntosh did what parents have been doing for thousands of years — he pointed out the best qualities of each colt.
“The Mohegan Pan could be a show horse, he is such a good looking colt,” says the Windsor resident, who will send The Mohegan Pan out in the Confederation Cup and Nebupanezzar out in the two-year-old pacing colt Gold Final on Sunday. “Nebupanezzar is not as fancy as the other one, but he’s more mentally developed than The Mohegan Pan was at the same time in his career.
“The full brothers both have a lot of talent, but both are very different.”
Nebupanezzar heads into the $120,000 Gold Final on a three race unbeaten streak. The son of No Pan Intended and Western Wonder swept through the elimination and final of the first Gold Series event at Mohawk Racetrack in July, and captured his Aug. 10 elimination at Flamboro in an effortless 1:55. The gelding has earned in four starts what it took his older brother almost a full season to accumulate.
“He’s done everything we’ve asked him to this point. He wanted to do things right from day one,” says McIntosh of Nebupanezzar. “He was one of those colts that gaited very easily.”
While Nebupanezzar looked impressive from the moment he stepped onto the track in his June 28 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack, elder brother The Mohegan Pan was much slower to round into form. McIntosh says he later learned that sire No Pan Intended followed a similar slow moving path on his way to a $1.6 million career.
“I talked to Ivan Sugg, who trained No Pan Intended, he said No Pan Intended came back at three a different horse,” explains McIntosh, who conditions both colts for owner-breeder Bob Glazer’s Peter Pan Stables Inc. of Pepper Pike, OH. “The Mohegan Pan just went through the motions as a two-year-old. He made some money, but he never wanted to stick his nose out in front. He’s more willing to go forward this year. He has a totally different attitude.”
As a two-year-old The Mohegan Pan made 12 starts, and earned $189,457 without ever winning a stake race. This season the colt has scored wins in his June 21 Gold Elimination at Georgian Downs and in the Canadian Breeders Championship Elimination at Mohawk on July 19, banking $145,721 in eight starts.
In the Confederation Cup the colt will face off against a group that includes three other Ontario Sires Stakes regulars, but both the talented locals and the American-sired colts joining them are overshadowed by the presence of super colt Somebeachsomewhere.
“The Mohegan Pan and Keystone Horatio have a good rivalry going, kind of equal, but then there’s this other horse,” says McIntosh ruefully. “These ones come along once in a lifetime.”
McIntosh is confident that if The Mohegan Pan can advance out of the elimination round, he will be able to handle the second heat required of Confederation Cup contestants. His only concern is the colt’s lack of high early speed.
“You never know until you do it, but I think he’ll be okay (with heats). He’s a good strong colt and he’s carrying good flesh,” says the veteran horseman. “Like John Campbell says, you don’t know until the first time they get tired whether they are going to fight or not.”
The Confederation Cup colts will fight in Races 9 and 10 for a berth in the $593,000 final, which will go postward as Race 12.
Ontario-sired horses will entertain Flamboro Downs fans throughout the afternoon, with the three-year-old trotting colts squaring off in their $140,000 Gold Final in Race 2, the two-year-old pacing colts battling in Gold Consolation action in Race 5, and Nebupanezzar and his peers helping to build excitement for the Cup final as they battle for Gold Final glory in Race 11.
Post time for Flamboro Downs’ hotly anticipated Confederation Cup program this Sunday, Aug. 17 is 1:30 pm.
For complete results please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsu.html.