Race 1 Selections 3 SHARKS SUMMRSHANDY is set to make her second start over the track and she looks to have found an easier assignment than last week when she was let go at almost 14-1 in an OSS Grassroots race. She didn t haul down 1-2 favourite Lady Bubbles but she did make it close after taking the shortest way around the final turn and sticking to the cones through the stretch drive. While some cappers will avoid her as she s 0-for-18 over two seasons, I m going to cut her some slack as this is just her second start for current trainer Colin Johnson. 6 PARISIAN BLUE CHIP looks like a good option if you re still not sold on our top pick. In Parisian Blue Chip you get a Mark Steacy-trained daughter of Bettors Delight who made her first start of the season on 06/14 and managed to pass a horse at every call. I like the fact that she was a close third to the 3-5 winner and still going forward at the end. Her last quarter of 27.4 was the best of that bunch. 1 HEY SWEETIE has been on the board in five of eight this year including a pair of third place finishes in the OSS. She has yet to enjoy what I d call an ideal trip so it s probably just a matter of time before she gets the job done. Could post one with Trevor Henry be the answer? 5 CABOWABOCUTTIE has a slightly better record than Sharks Summrshandy but only slightly! She has been a close third in an OSS Gold race and second in the local NW1 class after a post 10 start but she hasn t been able to put it all together. We ll disregard her most recent race as she simply wasn t ready to go with the likes of Shower Play or any of the fillies that she met in that Gold event for that matter. 1853 Flora Temple became the first trotter to break 2:30. She was the "bob tail nag" of Stephen Foster's song "Camptown Races and between 1853 and 1859 she lowered the world record 6 different times. Her career best of 2:19 ¾ was taken at the age of fourteen.
Race 2 Selections 2 WHITE TIGER doesn t have many stars in his extended family but if one qualifier is any indication, he might be the one to strike it big. In fairness, his mom does have a $436K-winning brother, but beyond that there are few who stand out. I like the way he got over this track in 1:57.4 on 06/15 as it looked like he could have gone around again and still beaten his stablemate rather handily. And speaking of stablemates, Anthony Macdonald unveiled another Muscle Massive colt last year. Lawmaker turned out to be a pretty nice colt even though his first two qualifiers were in 2:01 and 2:02.1. 6 JUDGE KEN was bet down to 3-1 when he started in Mohawk s first two-year-old race of the season on 06/21. He didn t win but he was a very respectable second to his stablemate Only Take Cash (a filly) who paid $56.80. We didn t see that one coming as we were expecting big things from Westiftysecond who made front on the backstretch and then faded to fifth. 4 SPLURGE ON ME is another Bob McIntosh pupil, but unlike Judge Ken she is making her first start for a purse. She s a homebred Kadabra filly with two full sisters who have raced here in the past. Inner Drive has won 4 of 26 and Kant Afford It is 1-for-13. 7 SILVER will have to drop a few seconds before she s likely to be a threat to White Tiger although I can see her getting a share and possibly being part of the trifecta in her first for a purse. The filly who beat her in the 06/09 qualifier, Firedbylindie, has since won at The Meadows in 1:59.4. COLTS: WILLIAM WELLWOOD ELIGIBLES (Purse $400,000; Elims Sept 8; Final Sept 15): 1, 2, 5
Race 3 Selections 4 REVIVAL CARDS is one of two in here who won their qualifier and of those two she was the fastest by more than a second. That doesn t mean that she s a shoe-in for the win, however. While she did chop out the opening quarter in her most recent qualifier, it was another filly who put up three-quarters in 1:27.4 and that helped immensely. Others have been a bit faster for a quarter mile (Undefiable) and several have flashier pedigrees but we re sticking with the one who has already been sub-1:56. 6 BESTSELLER HANOVER sold for $130K as a yearling so you know that her connections have high hopes for her. And so far she has done (almost) everything that has been asked of her. She didn t win the initial qualifier but at least she did set the opening quarter and half before yielding and taking a shuffle. There was no shuffle last week and she emerged from the pocket with a head of steam. That last quarter in 27.1 was impressive even if she did have a good trip to the point where she took over. 3 UNDEFIABLE has three full siblings who have each made it to the races and one of them, Somethinincredible, banked $334K from 33 starts. McIntosh is known for bringing well prepared youngsters to the track and it was only last week that we saw McIntosh pupils finish 1-2 in Mohawk s first two-year-old race of the season. 1846 The saxophone was patented by Antoine-Joseph "Adolfe" Sax 1870 The United States Congress created federal holidays (New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day), initially applicable only to federal employees. And yes, there have been Standardbreds named New Years Day (by Chapter Seven, now 3), Christmas Day (retired in 1996), Thanksgiving Day (raced in the 70s and made $552), and two named Independence Day (the latest debuted at Mohawk in 1997 for Kevin Davidson and raced at Rideau through 2002).
Race 4 Selections 5 SPECTRE looks like the type that might be good enough to win his second start for a purse. We didn t give him much of a shot in his 06/14 debut as he faced the likes of The First Chapter ($2.60) and he certainly didn t over-deliver. What he did do was break and then re-qualify in 2:00.1 on just a few day s rest. His pedigree suggests that he should be a racehorse once he gets things figured out. He s out of an unraced sister to millionaire Earl Of My Dreams a mare who has produced two decent ones in Esquire ($51K) and the higher profile Equity ($822K). He also has an older sister named Safekeeping and she won her first for a purse for this same barn back in 2015 while competing in the Pure Ivory Series. 2 WILL CAN GO didn t live up to his 2-1 billing when he had the 5 hole on 06/05 so we dropped him when he drew Post 8 on 06/18. We didn t envision a break but rather a slow start that would have left him too far back. The risk tonight is that he could be handled very conservatively as another break would mean a trip back to the qualifiers. If he does stay trotting and he s not too far back I can see him cracking the top three and possibly winning it all. 8 THE MAGIC NUMBER is just two starts into his season and three starts into his career so we won t rule out further improvement. He now has a clean line whereas he would have been sent back to re-qualify had he made a break last time out. 6 IMF has been to Buffalo for a New York-sired event since we last saw her finish a steady fourth at 14-1. One start before that she wound up second under little if any urging. There s upset potential here. 7 YOSEMITE EMMETT was content to follow along behind some dawdlers in his 06/19 qualifier but once he was asked for something he did respond with a last quarter in 28.1. I don t see him winning at first asking but he s definitely that we ll start tracking.
Race 5 Selections 6 TORRIN HANOVER could be excused if he needed a start or two before he wins his way out of this class so I won t be too hard on him if he fails to live up to this top billing. On the other hand he does have a lot going for him and I suspect he ll be able to drop a few seconds right off the bat. The reason for my optimism? He consistently paced sub-1:53 miles as a two-year-old and he has an older brother named Traceur Hanover. His big bro kicked off his sophomore season in 2015 in the Somebeachsomewhere followed by the NA Cup elims and consolation. By October he was on Lasix and in the Breeders Crown. Torrin gets a much, much easier assignment as he s still racing at NW1. It might be a short stay. 1 SPICY TALKER looks pretty good on paper and even better when you realize that he has an older halfbrother in Moonliteonthebeach ($492,732) and his dam is a sister to the likes of Sweet Lou ($3.4 million), Bettor Sweet ($2.8 million), and Nutcracker Sweet (6th in this year s NA Cup). His times are coming down nicely and he was recently third to an under wraps winer in Thunder Some Where (see Race 9). 7 STOLEN ART didn t live up to the hype when he was up to Kawartha Downs on 06/23 and yet trainer David Brown has elected to give him another shot at local maidens rather than regroup at the Bs. That suggests there may have been a legitimate excuse for him missing a cheque while favoured. If so, and if he can pace back to the 1:53.4 mile he had on 06/19 he should be a factor with Filion. 2 RONS EOM wasn t exactly running over those he was following in his 06/19 race but then it was his first start over this track, first for trainer Herb Holland, and first since he was a vet scratch at Harrington (Delaware). I can see him improving with that race under his belt.
Race 6 Selections 7 JACKIE NEWLANDS did reasonably well when down to Monticello and Buffalo for a pair of New York Sires Stakes races but I like her chances in the NW2 class a lot better. In Buffalo she beat all but the Ake Svansted-trained Lucky Ava a filly who won last year s NYSS final and $279K. Just prior to shipping south Jackie was 4th at NW2 and a winner prior to that at NW1 despite a Post 10 start. 2 MAGICS LUCKY CHARM is a better prospect than most who have consistently closed at double digit odds. Since winning her way out of the NW1 class on 03/10 (with a powerful front-end score at 60 cents on the dollar) she has had some tough posts while racing at NW2 and some tough competition while competing in events like the SBOA Stakes and a division of the OSS Gold. She wasn t at her best on 06/04 (last quarter in 31.4) but I suspect she ll be better from Post 2 while facing a bunch of mostly one-time winners. 9 GODDESS OF GOODNESS has been chasing the same horses as Jackie Newlands with less to show for it and now has a tough post to overcome. At least she did win at NW2 before heading off to New York. 3 EXS AND OHS cannot be ruled out now that she is paired with catch driver Bob McClure. She hasn t had a lot of luck lately when you consider the interference break on 05/31, a break on her own on 05/10 and some first-over trips sprinkled in between. 6 COLLATERAL BEAUTY is the one that Jamieson dropped in favour of Magics Lucky Charm. I can see why he would stick with the Menary barn but I do think that CB is a better prospect than her lines would suggest. She faced Gold fillies last year and even qualified for the Superfinal. Post 6 and Zeron won t hurt. 1932 Jack Campbell, born
Race 7 Selections 9 CAFE SOCIETY looks like the type that might be able too overcome Post 9 in her first start for a purse. That s a tall order, to be sure, but I don t think it s out of the question. She certainly had enough speed on the tail end of her last qualifier. She also scores some points on the pedigree angle as she has one older sibling named Vintage Babe who won her first for a purse right here at Mohawk in 2016 for Tony Alagna. VB was first or second in each of her first five starts, including a win from Mohawk s 8-hole. 3 SHESONEHOTWRITER looks like another good option based on the limited information that we have at this point. She closed 4-1/2 lengths in the last eighth of her most recent qualifier to win in 1:56.4 with her own last quarter in 27.1. That stacks up nicely with the best in here. On top of that, she s a Sportswriter and out of the mare who has already produced Our Hot Majorette p, 2, Q1:57.2s, 3, 1:51.4s, 4, 1:49.2s ($258,653). That Art Major miss won her first start in a NYSS event for these same connections. 1 CLEARLY BETTER didn t hold on for the win in her second of two qualifiers but I think we can cut her some slack as she had been parked through the first quarter, pressed in the third quarter, and she did pace home in 27. Clearly Better has three $100K-winning siblings, including Clear Idea ($422K) who won her first for a purse under Macintosh s management back in 2016. She turned out to be a nice NYSS filly and even raced in this year s Roses Are Red after finishing second in the local f&m-preferred. 2 MACH THIS DAY wasn t really in contention in either of her two qualifiers but I do like the fact that she closed up in 26.2 the second time around. She s a Bob McIntosh-trained homebred and a half-sister to a pair of $300K winners in Regal Son and Day To Ponder. There s potential here! 1977 Steve Cauthen, on his first day as a journeyman jockey, won with his first three mounts at Belmont
Race 8 Selections 1 WHAT CHAPTER is probably still a work in progress but at least he is making progress. He was roughlygaited when he won on 05/31 and too far back to catch Venus Duharas on 06/07. He made up a ton of ground in that 06/07 race and that probably convinced the win bettors that he was the one to beat when he climbed to NW3 for the first time on 06/15. I can see him winning another one as he s still in with some of the same horses and he might be a bit closer to the pace now that he starts from Post 1. 5 VEYRON deserves some credit for showing the way for all but the final stride of his 06/15 race. He certainly had them strung out on the backstretch and they were still single file at three-quarters. That was a marked improvement on the leisurely start and non-factor eighth that he turned in one week earlier. Three black he was shoved three-wide on the last turn and simply had too far to come to catch Alloveragain. 2 THE BACK NINE has been favoured in each of his four starts this year and he has lived to the advance billing in two of the four. I m reluctant to call for a win when he has moved up to NW3 after a loss at NW2 but I will point out that he had a pretty rough trip on 06/14 and with a bit of racing luck (like the advancing cover he found on 05/28) he might do much, much better. 9 VENUS DUHARAS would look a little better from mid-gate starting but it should be noted that she had Post 8 when she won her way out of the NW2 class on 06/07 despite being roughed up in the early going. However, this is her second start at the level and she ll likely need a few starts before she wins again. 1838 Coronation of Queen Victoria in Westminster Abbey, London. Three Standardbreds have been registered under the name Queen Victoria, plus we ve seen a Queen Victoria K and Queen Victorian. The best of the five, Queen Victorian, kicked off her career at Mohawk for trainer Susie Kerwood in 2000 and had a stint with Scott McEneny before moving on the US where she retired in 2004 with earnings of $53K.
Race 9 Selections 2 BACKSTREET SHADOW is one that some will consider a very risky choice for the simple reason that he has been sidelined since 05/20. We re banking that he might be better than some colts who miss that long due to sickness or some other complication that has kept them out of training. That wasn t the case with Backstreet Shadow as he was forced to sit out following a disqualification on 05/20. It s worth noting that he WON that race in 1:52.3 over the Flamboro half-miler. That was some mile! 6 DRAMATIC POINT isn t the most obvious pick in this race but he is one of the more intriguing plays so and he might be worth a few bucks if the price is as high as we hope it will be. The first thing that caught our eye was that Jody Jamieson got the drive even though he was not originally listed on this horse but rather on the O Sullivan-trained Thunder Some Where. And then there s the part about Dramatic Point being a $260K yearling. Surely a colt who sold for a quarter million and who has an older brother like Betting Line ($2.2 million) will be a bit better than most who qualify in 1:57. 7 CROSS MY MIND was such an easy winner in the NW1 class on 06/19 that he deserves top-three consideration in his first start at NW2. Hey, he might even be the best of the bunch. He certainly didn t have any trouble beating maidens when Bob McClure hopped in the bike for the first time. That was also his first start for trainer Nick Gallucci and that may have had something to do with the dramatic improvement. 1 PHIL THE THRILL came very close to winning his latest and it took a 7-5 favourite who had a very nice second-over trip to beat him. That was Phil s fifth start of the season but just his second since May so it only stands to reason that he might be a bit stronger this third time out. ONE TO WATCH: 6 DRAMATIC POINT
Race 10 Selections 10 WHATASHOWINONTARIO might finally have found a winnable race. Of course many said that when he was up to Kawartha Downs on 06/23 and he wound up second in a five horse field, albeit to another Mohawk shipper in UF Bettors Hanover who had just been second in a race very similar to this. There aren t any others in this race who show a mile in 1:51.1 as Whatashowinontario does just three lines down the page and none are dramatically better than his 12-2-2-1 standing when you consider that most of those starts were at Woodbine or Mohawk. 8 NOTETOSELF HANOVER didn t make much of an impact in his latest but just two back he worked out a great trip at Georgian and he knew what to do with it. That was his first win in a gazillion starts and it took a pocket trip so winning another one from Post 8 is probably asking too much. 4 LATE NIGHT isn t the strongest play when he s coming out of a conditioned race for a slightly higher purse and he finished sixth at 54-1. At least he has retained the services of Trevor Henry who also had the option of driving Bs Tyrrific. 9 PRINCE GIOVANNI has on occasion come up with an effort that has left us hopeful that he ll pace back to the 1:51.4 record that he took at Woodbine earlier this year. His last effort was not one of those aweinspiring efforts even though he did do reasonably well considering the trip. One of these times he ll roll off cover and remember what it s all about. 1937 Pat Crowe, born at Orr Lake, ON. Although he started driving at the age of 16 and was the leading dash winner at Western Fair in 1964, Crowe is best known as the trainer-driver of the great Cam Fella. 1947 Jim Marohn, born in Cleveland, OH