Mohawk Warrior defeated Rafa for the second straight week in the WEGZ Series while their stablemate Cajon Lightning completed a sweep of the top three spots for trainer Richard Moreau on Saturday, March 12 at Woodbine Racetrack.
Just five horses competed in the $20,000 second round of the series, which was dominated by the trio of Moreau trainees. Mohawk Warrior had defeated Rafa in last weekend's opening leg, while their barn buddy Cajon Lightning was fourth-placed-sixth.
Again the favourite at odds of 3-5, Mohawk Warrior was driven by Jody Jamieson for owner Brad Grant of Milton, Ont.
Mohawk Warrior tracked Rafa (Sylvain Filion) through fractions of :27.4 and :56.2 before being flushed out of the pocket when Cajon Lightning (Trevor Henry) began to advance from the back of the short field. Mohawk Warrior and Rafa battled head-to-head past three-quarters in 1:24.3 and into the stretch, with the former ultimately wearing down the latter for the 1:51.3 victory by a neck. Cajon Lightning finished two and three-quarter lengths behind in third with Shades Of Bay (Phil Hudon) and Mitt Jagger (Paul MacDonell) completing the finish order.
The series is for four-year-old pacers that were non-winners of $100,000 lifetime as of Oct. 31, 2015.
Mohawk Warrior (Rocknroll Hanover-A And Gs Confusion) has finished no worse than third in seven starts this year, with four of those efforts winning ones. His $55,380 seasonal earnings lifts his bankroll up to $148,561.
In Preferred action, 1-5 favourite Nickle Bag notched his sixth straight win for driver Trevor Henry and trainer Bill Robinson.
Nickle Bag left from the outside six-post during a quick (:26.4) opening panel and cleared to command past the quarter-pole. The field, which was scratched down to five starters, was lined up in reverse-post position order as Nickle Bag led the way through middle splits of :54.3 and 1:21.4 and then opened up four lengths down the stretch to secure the victory. Erle Dale N (James MacDonald) closed from the back of the pack into second-place, finishing two and a half lengths behind the winner, while Evenin Of Pleasure (Sylvain Filion) followed off a pocket trip in third.
Nickle Bag's winning time of 1:50 flat was a new Canadian season's record.
Now seven-for-nine in 2016, the six-year-old Rocknroll Hanover-Buckle Bunni gelding is the first horse to top the $100,000 earnings mark this year in Canada.
He is owned by Linda Loyens of Denfield, Ont. and her brother-in-law Harry Loyens of Ilderton, Ont.
To view Saturday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Racetrack.