The Tuesday evening program at Mohawk Racetrack saw driver Jody Jamieson put on a clinic thanks to a six-win performance, and one of his tickets to victory lane put on a clinic of his own
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Il Villaggio, who will clash with some of North America’s top older trotters, tuned up for that event by roaring to a 1:51.4 performance in a $24,000 conditioned event during Tuesday’s 11-race program at the Campbellville oval.
Not only did the performance equal the nation’s fastest trotting mile of the season – an effort turned in by San Pail at Mohawk on July 5 – but it also earned Il Villaggio a share of the track record at Mohawk Racetrack and the Canadian record for older trotting horses. He now shares the record with Triumphant Caviar, who established the standard of 1:51.4 at Mohawk on August 10, 2010.
Jamieson played it cool with the Blair Burgess-trained four-year-old son of Yankee Glide-Dance To Market in the early part of the mile, but things got a bit more serious as the field marched into the backstretch. Ericskarri led the trotters to the quarter pole in :27.4 before Il Villaggio shot out of fourth and brushed his way to the lead in a matter of strides. He cleared in an effortless manner and proceeded to chop out middle panels of :56 and 1:23.4 before uncorking a :28-second closing quarter to win by 7-1/2 lengths in 1:51.4 over Andover America. Ericskarri was a well-beaten third.
Brittany Farms, Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc and Il Villaggio Partners share ownership on the 10-time winner, who is now 3-for-6 this season. He has put away close to $570,000 in lifetime earnings.
As for Jamieson, he racked up five other victories on the card to become the first driver of the season on the WEG circuit to surpass 200 wins.
“It’s a pretty good feeling,” said Jamieson. “I thought I had a pretty good line-up coming in. Obviously when you win six, a lot of things have to go right. I am really happy with Il Villaggio. He raced great. I am really pumped for six. It’s the toughest circuit in the world to be able to do that, six wins any night at any track, is an accomplishment and it’s great to do it here.”
(With quotes from WEG)
To view results for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Mohawk Racetrack.
In context to the speed of
In context to the speed of other races on the card,..........."ll Villaggio's", time stacks up quite well.