Grand Circuit action returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park this Saturday, August 31, featuring two Simcoe Stakes divisions alongside the 2024 Canadian Pacing Derby and Maple Leaf Trot finals.
The $600,000 Maple Leaf Trot (Race 10) and the $540,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (Race 8) will headline a stellar card of harness racing, which also includes some of Ontario's finest two-year-old pacers competing in the Ontario Sires Stakes, as well as top trotting talent in single Simcoe divisions.
Nine fillies from the 2024 Casual Breeze Stakes, including the top nine finishers, will compete in the $156,000 Simcoe division. Drawn Impression (PP9, Louis-Philippe Roy, 6-5) dominated last week with a six-length victory but faces a tougher challenge this time from post nine. The second and third-place finishers, Emoji Hanover (PP8, Dexter Dunn, 9-2) and R Liza (PP10, Scott Zeron, 5-1), also drew outside posts, making the Simcoe for trotting fillies, the third race of the evening, a highly anticipated contest.
Highland Kismet, the runner-up in the 2024 Hambletonian, returns to action in the $164,000 open Simcoe division. The Canadian record holder will start from post three in the sixth race, with driver Bob McClure and trainer Mark Etsell, who recently surpassed $10 million in career earnings. Highland Kismet, the 4-5 morning line favourite, will race without trotting hopples, facing a strong field including Paquet (PP2, Jody Jamieson, 9-2), who is unbeaten in two starts.
Three Grand Circuit-winning two-year-old pacers from last Saturday at Mohawk return to Ontario Sires Stakes action this weekend. Eternal Camnation winners Chantilly (PP8, James MacDonald, 4-5) and Perfectly Chic (PP10, McClure, 6-1) will meet for the first time since their July 16 encounter in the second Gold series leg. Chantilly remains undefeated in four starts, while Perfectly Chic has consistently placed in the top two across five outings. They will face off again in the fourth OSS Gold leg, the second race of the night.
Boxer Seelster, a standout in the two-year-old pacing colt division after winning the Nassagaweya with a 1:52 score, drew post nine for driver Trevor Henry in an 11-horse OSS Gold fourth leg in the seventh race, where he is the 5-2 morning line favourite. Runner-up from the Mid-Season final, Fifth And Five (PP5, Jamieson, 3-1), is among the contenders.
The night's main events include 11 veteran pacers in the $540,000 Canadian Pacing Derby (Race 8). Abuckabett Hanover (PP6, Dexter Dunn, 5-2) enters off a 1:49.1 victory in the Preferred, competing against several of the same rivals this Saturday. Notable challengers include Graduate winner Voukefalas (PP9, Jordan Stratton, 9-2), Always B Miki Invitational winner Ruthless Hanover (PP10, Andy Miller, 10-1), and local star Taurasi (PP11, Doug McNair, 4-1).
The 2024 Maple Leaf Trot (Race 10) will see ten elite trotters battling for supremacy. Periculum (PP5, Scott Zeron, 9-5) impressed in his elimination win, while Logan Park (PP2, Doug McNair, 5-2) advanced via disqualification. Other top contenders include millionaires Hillexotic (PP4, Jamieson, 6-1), Oh Well (PP7, Dunn, 8-1), Fashion Frenzie (PP8, Roy, 10-1), and M Ms Dream (PP9, David Miller, 9-2), all of whom are expected to make a strong showing.