Twenty rookie trotting fillies sparred in a
trio of $30,000 eliminations for this year’s
Peaceful Way Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack on
Thursday evening, setting the stage for next
Saturday’s $477,000 final
Superstar Hanover did most of the road
work en route to capturing the first
elimination, and she did so by equaling her
lifetime mark of 1:57.2 for trainer/driver
Jim Takter.
The daughter of Cantab Hall-Star Hanover
sprinted to the lead and led the field past
the quarter pole in :28.3 before being
overtaken in the second quarter by Witch
Way. That filly was in command at the half
in :59.3, but Takter quickly roused his
charge back to the outside and in a matter
of strides the ball was back in their court.
Superstar Hanover was on top at the
three-quarter pole in 1:29.2 and she turned
on the jets in the lane for a :28-second
closing panel which was good enough to earn
her the 5-3/4 length triumph over Witch Way.
Princess Fortune rallied to grab the show
dough.
Christina Takter of East Windsor, NJ shares
ownership on the two-time winner with John
Fielding of Toronto and Louie Camara of
Puslinch, ON. She’s put together a 2-2-0
record in five tries, and she’s banked
$63,955 in the process.
All eyes were on
the undefeated filly Check Me Out in the
second elimination, but
Win Missy B rained on her parade after
enjoying a two-hole trip behind that high
profile foe for a good portion of the mile.
Win Missy B shot to the top for driver
Trevor Ritchie and took the field past the
quarter pole in :29.1. Check Me Out, who was
sent off as the 1-9 favourite, sat third
around the first turn, but she used her
second quarter sprinting speed to march to
the lead. She tripped the teletimer at the
mid-way point in :59.1 and took the field to
the three-quarter pole in 1:28.3 before
being confronted again by Win Missy B. That
pocket-sitting rival tipped off the pylons
and used a :27.3 final frame to win by
one-half length over Check Me Out, who
tasted defeat for the first time in nine
career tries. Third prize went to Miss
Majestic.
“I was very impressed with her tonight,”
said driver Trevor Ritchie. “She’s a great
filly to drive and was on both lines. She
was nice and relaxed and when Tim [Tetrick
driving Check Me Out] come at me, she let
him go and stayed at her task. She was
telling me that she still had some trot left
turning for home. I wasn’t sure if I was
going to be able to catch Tim’s filly or
not, but when I moved her over she started
to go forward and then I realized that we do
have a shot here.”
Charlie Norris trains
the Conway Hall-Winning Missbrenda lass for
owner/breeder Bob Key of Leechburg, PA. The
filly, who now boasts a 4-1-0 record in
seven tries, has racked up $86,780 to date.
Aunt Mel pulled off a 9-1 upset in the
third elimination, and she did so in a
career-best clocking of 1:58 for the tandem
of driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Erv
Miller.
Xquisite Chocolate shot to the top and
got away with easy fractions of :29 and
1:00.2 before being overtaken by the
pocket-sitting Aunt Mel around the final
turn. Aunt Mel, who hit the three-quarter
pole in 1:30.1, uncorked a :27.4 closing
panel to hold off runner-up Miss Paris by
three-quarters of a length. Love Walked In
grabbed the show dough.
Mary Jane Anderson of Long Grove, IL owns
the daughter of Yankee Glide-Kimmie Hall,
who now owns a 2-2-0 record in seven starts.
The $15,000 payday lifted her lifetime
earnings to $73,050.
The top three
finishers from each elimination plus one of
the fourth-place finishers (drawn by lot)
will advance to the rich final on Saturday,
September 17, with the elimination winners
earning their connections the right to
select a post position for the final. Here’s
how they’ll line up behind the starting
gate:
$447,000 Peaceful Way Stakes
Final
1. Miss Majestic
2. Superstar Hanover
3. Aunt Mel
4. Win Missy B
5. Princess Fortune
6. Miss Paris
7. Witch Way
8. Xquisite Chocolate
9. Love Walked In
10. Check Me Out
(With quote from WEG)
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