Older pacing mares competed in the elimination round for the Milton Stakes during Saturday's undercard at Mohawk with Drop The Ball and Anndrovette defeating the heavy favourites to win their respective $50,000 divisions.
Driver Yannick Gingras worked out a perfect pocket trip aboard Drop The Ball and was able to manoeuvre the 3-2 second choice out down the stretch to win the first elimination over favourite Put On A Show (Jody Jamieson) in 1:51.4. Krispy Apple (Luc Ouellette) was third while first over challenger Radar Contact (Jack Moiseyev) and Swinging Beauty (Doug McNair) rounded out the top five finishers who will advance to next weekend’s final.
“They were walking around the last turn and I was a little bit worried I was never going to get out, but I took my chance,” commented Gingras in the winner’s circle. “Put On A Show is a great mare and I wanted the two-hole, I didn’t want [Jody] ti have it and that’s why I kind of slowed down in the first turn to make sure he was going to keep coming. Obviously we got lucky. They started going a little bit, him and Jack, and I was able to slide out in front of Timmy [Tetrick aboard second over Strike An Attitude] and she did the rest.”
Drop The Ball paid $5 to win.
The four-year-old Western Terror-Mattcheck Girl mare, a career winner of nearly $900,000, is trained by Tony O’Sullivan for Let It Ride Stables Inc., Dana Parham, and Robert Cooper Stables LLC.
In the second elimination, O'Brien Award winner Anndrovette swept from third to first at the half and battled back against 6-5 favourite Rebeka Bayama (Sylvain Filion) down the stretch to win by a neck in 1:50 flat. Finishing third through fifth were Rocklamation (Brett Miller), Waasmula (Luc Ouellette), and Ginger And Fred (Scott Zeron).
"She's tough, as long as they don't sprint right by her she's okay," commented Tetrick in the winner's circle. "That mare got to her and she eased by her, and then my mare fought back game. She paced all the way to the wire and got back by that other mare."
Anndrovette paid $5 to win as the 3-2 second choice.
Paul Fraley trains the five-year-old Riverboat King-Easy Miss mare, who has banked more than $1.83 million lifetime, for owners Bamond Racing LLC and Joseph Davino.
The winning connections from each elimination earned the right to pick their post positions for next Saturday's $384,000 final. The field will line up as follows:
1. Put On A Show
2. Drop The Ball
3. Krispy Apple
4. Anndrovette
5. Rocklamation
6. Swinging Beauty
7. Ginger And Fred
8. Radar Contact
9. Waasmula
10. Rebeka Bayama
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