Maple Leaf Trot, Milton Elims Highlight Weekend Affairs At Mohawk

Grand Circuit action among the older sets are the divisions featured as the “Roaring Grand” continues at Mohawk Racetrack this weekend. Top stakes action including the eliminations for the Maple Leaf Trot and the Milton Pace on Friday, Sept. 8. Alongside these events for aged racers, Scioto Downs hosts the $225,000 Jim Ewart Memorial on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Milton elimination number one congregates “Crown” hopefuls Wrangler Magic, Pure Country, Call Me Queen Be, L A Delight and Lyons River Pride, with Pure Country being the likely public choice.

The most probable value contender in this race will likely be Call Me Queen Be, assuming Wrangler Magic is close to favoritism as the second choice. Consistently involved when competing in the mares stakes events, Call Me Queen Be should be positioned in her prime setup spot stalking the pace, but may or may not be better than the best here yet. That’s the caveat upon which we’re betting.

All entrants but Ms Mac N Cheese in the second Milton elimination are eligible for Crown action at Hoosier this year. Headlining the octet is Lady Shadow, the current leader of the mare pacing division. While she appears to have retained her form since being forced on layoff due to a positive test back in May, Frost Damage Blues also appears to be entering this race at her best—finishing second to Pure Country in the Artiscape last out. As long as she is put into a stalking spot, she should have the capability to beat even the best.

Elimination one of the Maple Leaf Trot pins top-mare trotters and Crown eligibles Hannelore Hanover and Pasithea Face S against male Crown contenders Il Sogno Dream, Lookslikeachipndale and JL Cruze.

Value very simply will come from Lookslikeachipndale here, since Hannelore Hanover and Paisthea Face S will likely take a ton of play against an Open division without a clear standout. Yet, Lookslikeachipndale enters off a win in the Earl Rowe and was sharp finishing third in the John Cashman on Hambletonian day. He’s definitely live.

All eight in the second Maple Leaf Trot elim are Crown eligible, lead by Resolve, entering off a win in the Crawford Farms Trot. Besides him, Marion Marauder is the obvious counter contender but will likely be a victim of the race’s setup if he opts to race from his standard off-the-pace position.

That said, Musical Rhythm enters off a strong on-the-front victory in the Preferred last week and will likely be in a striking spot so long as Resolve is raced as aggressively as he has been in his last few.

The Jim Ewart Memorial gathers Crown hopefuls Mel Mara, Boston Red Rocks, Mcwicked, Check Six, and Keystone Velocity. With no clear favorite considering Sintra and Keystone Velocity drew the outermost posts respectively, value could lie on many routes, including with those two.

However, Check Six also gets a draw that complements his racing style and he’s exiting a decent performance in the Canadian Pacing Derby coming from off the pace. If Keystone Velocity or Sintra do not offer the value sought, Check Six will.


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Follow major 2017 BC hopefuls on their road to the Breeders Crown at Hoosier Park at the Breeders Crown Countdown blog and the TwinSpires harness blog weekly, with archived reports on the results at the Hambletonian Society web site.