Eight of the 13 races carded on Saturday night, Aug. 19 at Woodbine Mohawk Park are for freshmen as three $69,000+ Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions for pacing colts and geldings go postward alongside $30,000 eliminations for the $640,000 William Wellwood Memorial and $400,000 Peaceful Way stakes for trotters.
Through two OSS Gold Series legs the two-year-old male pacers standings are crowded with four different winners separated by just 12 points. The Bettors Delight colt, Mirage Hanover (pictured above), is on top of that pile and looking to separate himself from the pack.
In the second OSS Gold leg on July 21 at Mohawk, the Scott McEneny trainee cut the mile from the quarter pole onwards and showed incredible speed, putting up fractions of :55.2 and 1:24.1 en route to a final time of 1:50.4 -- at that time, the fastest seasonal mark by a two-year-old pacer in North America.
“He was very impressive that night,” said McEneny. "He did it so handy. [Driver Bob McClure] said at the seven-eighths pole he kind of started shutting him down, and the more he shut him down, the faster he was going.”
His most recent start was in the second leg of the $20,000 Dream Maker Series on Aug. 4 at Mohawk, where he was third in a photo after a first-up move around the far turn.
“He scoped a little sick after that race and just wasn’t on his game that night,” said McEneny. “Being a Bettors Delight, they kind of need to be on the bit a little bit more, and he just didn’t look himself. But he has come into this week really good; we’ve scoped him and blood is good, and everything is good.”
The $175,000 Harrisburg yearling is the fourth foal out of Mach Three mare Mayhem Seelster, who earned more than $390,000 on the racetrack, and was an OSS Grassroots champion, Gold winner and third in the 2015 Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Filly Pace.
Mirage Hanover's half-sister Milieu Hanover has made more than $360,000 and his half-brother Mad Max Hanover, who is also owned by Mirage Hanover’s owner Marvin Rounick, has hit the board 20 times in 39 starts with more than $730,000 on his card.
Mirage Hanover drew into the final OSS division of the evening, race nine, where he will leave from post five with McClure driving.
He is facing off against double millionaire Tall Dark Stranger’s full brother Total Stranger (Bettors Delight-Precocious Beauty), who is making his Canadian and OSS debut after a pair of runner-up finishes in three Kindergarten Series starts at Meadowlands Racetrack.
“He’s feeling good this week and it should be a good race,” said McEneny. “We’re looking to hopefully set him up for the Metro and keep him healthy and keep moving forward.”
The three other Gold winners from the first two legs are all entered on Saturday: T H McMurry (McWicked-Waasmula), Chain Gang (Bettors Delight-Duostep Hanover) and undefeated Do Better (Bettors Delight-West Third Street), who comes in off a sweep of the Battle of Waterloo elimination and final at Grand River Raceway.
The trio of eliminations for the William Wellwood open to all two-year-old trotters are slated for races six, eight and 10, with eight Ontario-sired colts and geldings entered.
Resolve gelding Soar Higher is the leading Ontario-sired earner so far this season with $90,195 banked on the strength of a 1-1-1 record in three OSS starts for trainer Matt Bax. James MacDonald will be at the lines leaving from post two in the third elimination.
Finite (sired by Resolve), Elegant Resolve (Resolve), Masstercraft (Muscle Mass), Jack N Abs (Muscle Mass), Indy Be Quick (Alarm Detector), Salem Seelster (Muscle Mass) and Mrstery Deal (Wheeling N Dealin) round out the Ontario-sired contingent.
The winner of the William Wellwood receives free entry into the Mohawk Million.
The Peaceful Way for two-year-old trotting fillies attracted 19 entrants. Four are Ontario-sired.
Leading the way is the Archangel-Rite Outa The Park filly, Willys Home Run, who is three-for-three in the OSS this season for trainer Kyle Fellows. Dr. Sara Gatchell, Jake Higgs, Reg Higgs and Yolanda Fellows co-own the full sister to multiple O’Brien Award finalist Logan Park. Willys Home Run drew the inside post position in race seven, the second elimination and James MacDonald will be at the lines.
Nautilus B (Muscle Mass) joins Willys Home Run in race seven. Love Those Legs (Kadabra) and Valuable Miss (My MVP) are in race five.
Post time is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday.
To view Saturday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
(With files from Ontario Racing)