The Grand Circuit season at Woodbine Mohawk Park kicks off on Saturday with exciting eliminations for the William Wellwood Memorial and Peaceful Way stakes. Each event will feature $30,000 eliminations, with 19 two-year-old trotting colts and geldings competing in the Wellwood and 14 rookie trotting fillies in the Peaceful Way. The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the finals.
Headlining the Wellwood eliminations is New Jersey Sires Stakes champion Nordic Catcher S, trained by Ake Svanstedt. After a successful 1:53.3 victory in the New Jersey final on August 3, Nordic Catcher S is returning to the track from Post 2 in the second elimination. He will face notable competition, including the well-bred Emoticon Legacy (Post 5, Louis-Philippe Roy) and You Got It Kempt (Post 6, Sylvain Filion), who recently triumphed in the Ontario Sires Stakes Mid-Season Challenge.
The first Wellwood elimination features Millard Farms Series winner Tregaron (Post 3), a gelded son of Propulsion who is trained by Team Young. Extended Session (Post 8, James MacDonald), aiming to bounce back from his first loss, and other contenders like Maryland (Post 4, Dexter Dunn) and Tactical Dynasty (Post 7, Yannick Gingras) are also expected to make a strong showing.
The Peaceful Way eliminations will showcase promising rookie fillies. The first elimination sees Monalishi (Post 2, Jody Jamieson), trained by Blake MacIntosh, who has won three of four starts, including the OSS Mid-Season Challenge. Lasting Dream (Post 6, Roy), a daughter of Cantab Hall, also enters strong, having recently won the Pure Ivory Series final in 1:54.1.
The second Peaceful Way elimination will spotlight New Jersey Sires Stakes champion Champagne Problems, trained by Nancy Takter. After an impressive 1:52.3 victory on a sloppy track, she will race from Post 6 with Dexter Dunn in the sulky.
The eliminations are scheduled as Races 8 and 10 for the Wellwood and Races 3 and 7 for the Peaceful Way. The finals for both events will take place on Saturday, August 24, where elimination winners will secure post positions from two to six. Fans can expect a thrilling night of racing, with post time set for 7:10 p.m.