The Graduate Series, which is restricted to four-year-olds, will stop by Mohawk for the second consecutive year on Saturday. A group of 12 trotters and 13 pacers were entered for the second leg of the series.
The $100,845 ($75,000 USD) Graduate Trot will feature Broadway Donna, who captured the opening leg on May 20 at the Meadowlands Racetrack and is the lone mare in the field. She’ll be looking to beat the boys for a second time, but will have to do so in an overflow field of 12.
The Jim Campbell trainee will be making her third start of the season Saturday and will have regular driver David Miller in town to steer her from Post 9.
Broadway Donna won seven of 12 starts last season, including the Breeders Crown, en route to winning the Dan Patch Award for her division. The daughter of Donato Hanover has made 17 trips to the winner’s circle in her career and banked over $1.2 million for owner Fashion Farms.
Also in the field of 12 is Ron Burke trainee Dayson, who is searching for his first win of the season after capturing 12 of 22 and banking over $500,000 last season. Yannick Gingras will be driving the son of Conway Hall from Post 5.
The Graduate Trot has been carded as Race 7.
Over on the pacing side, a pair of $67,230 ($50,000 USD) divisions will be contested.
The seven-horse second division will be the main event as the top-three finishers from the Confederation Cup, Western Fame, Check Six and Sintra, will all meet up.
Western Fame is coming in off a strong front-end victory in the $176,000 Confederation Cup on May 21 at Flamboro. The Jimmy Takter trainee will team up with driver Trevor Henry and will start from Post 3.
A son of Western Ideal, Western Fame won six of 25 starts last season, including a victory in the first heat of the Little Brown Jug. The Brittany Farms homebred has won three of four starts this season and carries career numbers of nine wins and $573,174 earned into Saturday’s start.
Ron Burke trainee Check Six banked over $1 million last season and has yet to finish outside the top-two in four starts this year.
The son of Somebeachsomewhere won an opening leg division of the Graduate on May 6 at the Meadowlands and most recently finished second in the Confederation Cup. Yannick Gingras will steer Check Six, a 16-time winner, from Post 2.
Sintra, who caught the attention of many with a stunning 1:49.1 score in the opening leg of the Graduate, will be searching for his fourth win in five starts.
Trained by Dave Menary, Sintra won three in a row to start the season before finishing third from a tough post in the Confederation Cup final. The bay gelding won eight of 16 starts last season, but raced primarily in Ontario Sires Stakes and didn’t garner Grand Circuit attention until this season.
Sintra will team up with driver Jody Jamieson to start from Post 3.
The final four horses competing in the second split are Artmagic, Easy Lover Hanover, Seeley Man and Magnum J. Meanwhile, the first division will have a field of six going postward and it is led by millionaire Boston Red Rocks, who will start from Post 3 for trainer Steve Elliott.
The Graduate Pace divisions have been carded as Race 2 and Race 9.
Post time Saturday is 7:30 p.m. and an early-program proof for the stakes-filled card can be viewed by clicking here.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Mohawk, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Mohawk Racetrack.
(WEG)