MILTON, ON – June 5, 2024 – A group of 26 three-year-old harness racing pacers have been split into three $50,000 eliminations to determine the field for the 41stPepsi North America Cup at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The eliminations for this year’s Pepsi North America Cup will take place this Saturday (June 8). The top three finishers, plus a fourth-place finisher drawn by lot, will advance to the $1 million final on June 15.
O’Brien Award winner Legendary Hanover and Dan Patch Award winner Captain Albano are two of the headliners. Metro Pace winner Captains Quarters and Ontario stars Funtime Bayama and Nijinsky are part of a strong local contingent for this year’s Cup.
The three $50,000 eliminations have been carded as Races 3, 5 and 7.
Here is a breakdown of the Pepsi North America Cup eliminations.
Elimination #1
U.S. standout Captain Albano (PP4, Todd McCarthy) will make his Woodbine Mohawk Park debut in the first elimination.
Trained by Noel Daley, Captain Albano has won a pair of Pennsylvania Sires Stakes divisions to start his 2024 campaign after a Dan Patch Award winning two-year-old season. The son of 2013 Cup winner Captaintreacherous won seven of nine starts last year and has made over $500,000 from his 11 career outings.
Todd McCarthy is seeking his second Cup after winning in 2022 with Pebble Beach.
Captains Quarters (Captaintreacherous, PP6, Jody Jamieson) will look to protect home field in the first split. The Herb Holland trainee finished second in last week’s Somebeachsomewhere after a victory in his season debut on May 18.
Captains Quarters won last year’s rich Metro Pace in a career best 1:49.3. Saturday will be just his eighth career start, having won three of seven and never finishing outside the top three. His earnings sit at more than $550,000.
Breeders Crown champion Gem Quality (Captain Crunch, PP8, Dexter Dunn) is another major player in the first elimination.
Gem Quality has won two of three starts this season after winning four of eight as a rookie. His two-year-old season concluded with a 23-1 upset in the Breeders Crown for trainer Chris Ryder.
Clever Cody (The Panderosa, PP3, David Miller) is another standout vying for a spot in Saturday’s elimination opener. Dr. Ian Moore trains him.
An Ohio Sires Stakes star, Clever Cody returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park off an easy 1:52 victory last weekend at Northfield Park. The sophom*ore is two for three this year after winning six of 10 last season. He was also the third-place finisher in the Metro Pace.
Here is the field for the first elimination:
1 – Janelle Granny (Fear The Dragon) – Brett MacDonald – Ron MacDonald – 20-1
2 – Special Menu (Stay Hungry) – Andrew McCarthy – Brian Brown – 15-1
3 – Clever Cody (The Panderosa) – David Miller – Dr.Ian Moore – 6-1
4 – Captain Albano (Captaintreacherous) – Todd McCarthy – Noel Daley – 9-5
5 – Ivy Park (Captaintreacherous) – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter – 8-1
6 – Captains Quarters (Captaintreacherous) – Jody Jamieson – Herb Holland – 9-2
7 – Remember The Alamo (Captaintreacherous)– Tim Tetrick – Tony Alagna – 10-1
8 – Gem Quality (Captain Crunch) – Dexter Dunn – Chris Ryder – 7-2
Elimination #2
O’Brien Award winner Legendary Hanover (Huntsville, PP3, James MacDonald) leads the field for the second Cup elimination.
Trained by Anthony Beaton, Legendary Hanover holds the fastest mark of any Cup elimination starter at 1:48.3. He finished second in last weekend’s Somebeachsomewhere, pacing a :52.1 back-half.
Legendary Hanover has won two of three starts this season after winning six of nine last year. He was the runner-up in the Metro Pace and did win divisions of the Champlain and Nassagaweya.
Funtime Bayama (Hes Watching, PP6, Sylvain Filion) is another local standout vying for the Cup.
A gelding, Funtime Bayama was a coast-to-coast 1:49.1 winner in last weekend’s Somebeachsomewhere. The Richard Moreau trainee has won three of four starts this season after winning four of seven as a two-year-old. He’s never finished outside the top-three.
Mirage Hanover (Bettors Delight, PP4, Tim Tetrick) returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park in fine form. The colt is making his first trip of 2024 to Ontario after making eight of his nine two-year-old starts at Mohawk.
The Jake Leamon trainee won a division of the Nassagaweya and multiple OSS Gold events last season as part of a four for nine campaign. ‘Mirage’ started this season with 1:49.3 win at The Meadowlands on May 11 followed by a runner-up finish to older rivals on May 25, pacing in 1:48.4.
Here is the field for the second elimination:
1 – Captain Luke (Captaintreacherous) – Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna – 6-1
2 – Calicojack Hanover (Captaintreacherous)– Louis-Philippe Roy – Luc Blais – 15-1
3 – Legendary Hanover (Huntsville) – James MacDonald – Anthony Beaton – 6-5
4 – Mirage Hanover (Bettors Delight) – Tim Tetrick – Jake Leamon – 4-1
5 – Number Cruncher (Captain Crunch) – Andrew McCarthy – Erv Miller – 8-1
6 – Funtime Bayama (Hes Watching) – Sylvain Filion – Richard Moreau – 7-2
7 – Newsroom (Always B Miki) – Dexter Dunn – Joe Holloway – 10-1
8 – Miki Ray (Always B Miki) – Yannick Gingras – Andrew Harris – 15-1
9 – Cupid Shuffle (Sweet Lou) – Doug McNair – Dan Lagace – 20-1
Elimination #3
Nijinsky (Bettors Delight, PP3, Louis-Philippe Roy) will look to continue his perfect start to 2024 in Saturday’s final Cup elimination.
Trained by Anthony Beaton, Nijinsky posted a wicked 1:49 victory in the Somebeachsomewhere after a 1:49.4 score in an OSS Gold division the week prior. He is three for three this season after winning once in 10 starts at age two.
Total Stranger (Bettors Delight, PP9, Yannick Gingras) will look to follow in the Cup success footsteps of his big brother Tall Dark Stranger for trainer Nancy Takter. He has won a pair of overnight events to start 2024 after going winless in 11 starts as a rookie.
Tony Alagna (Bettors Wish, PP7, Andrew McCarthy) trainee Better Is Nice will be going for his first win of the season. He had a strong two-year-old season, winning seven of 11 starts and earning over $500,000.
Here is the field for the third elimination:
1 – Stat That (Check Six) – LeWayne Miller – Susan Miller – 15-1
2 – Its Saturday Night (Always B Miki) – Dexter Dunn – Richard Norman – 8-1
3 – Nijinsky (Bettors Delight)– Louis-Philippe Roy – Anthony Beaton – 9-5
4 – Unrivaled Hanover (Bettors Delight) – Jonathan Drury – Shawn Steacy – 10-1
5 – Captain Fear Not (Captain Crunch) – Doug McNair – Paul Reid – 15-1
6 – Storm Shadow (Bettors Delight)– Bob McClure – Dr. Ian Moore – 5-1
7 – Better Is Nice (Bettors Wish) – Andrew McCarthy – Tony Alagna – 9-2
8 – Wallace Hartley (Lazarus N) – Tyler Borth – Chantal Mitchell – 15-1
9 – Total Stranger (Bettors Delight) – Yannick Gingras – Nancy Takter – 7-2
Post time for Saturday’s card is 7:10 p.m.
Saturday’s card also includes the eliminations for the Fan Hanover (3-Year-Old Pacing Fillies) and Armbro Flight (Mare Trot). The weekend’s stakes action begins Friday evening with the eliminations for the Roses Are Red (Mare Pace) and Goodtimes (3-Year-Old Trot).
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by Mark McKelvie, for Woodbine Communications
