MILTON, July 13, 2021 – For the second year in a row, The Meadowlands Pace will be the first significant stop on the ‘Road to the Pepsi North America Cup’. Typically contested about a month following the ‘Cup’, the Meadowlands Pace will again be held prior to Canada’s most prestigious harness race due to COVID-19 rescheduling for Woodbine Mohawk Park. Last year’s Meadowlands Pace saw Tall Dark Stranger capture all the glory prior to visiting Mohawk Park a little over a month later to win the Pepsi North America Cup. The ‘Cup-Pace Double’ is one of the most notable feats in harness racing and this Saturday’s $700,000 will feature eight Pepsi North America Cup eligible horses. Unlike last year, the top-spot in the three-year-old pacing colt division isn’t exactly clear. Perfect Sting was the pre-season favourite, but a couple of losses and anything but pure domination has opened the door for some rotation at the top-spot. The Meadowlands Pace eliminations did little to provide any clarity among the top ‘Cup’ contenders. The first elimination saw an 80-1 upset by a non-Cup eligible, while the second elimination was filled with top contenders, but saw little action in the opening-half, turning into a back-half sprint and a 10-1 upset by Southwind Gendry. There are some takeaways from the eliminations, but not necessarily anything that should be jotted done in pen. The performances from Southwind Gendry and runner-up Lawless Shadow were strong. Meanwhile, Perfect Sting wasn’t called upon until late, pacing a :25.1 final-quarter that would typically turn heads, but all seven horses in the field were charted with a sub-:26 kicker. Last week’s number one rated horse American Courage was fourth from start to finish in the second elimination, also pacing home in :25.1. Just like Perfect Sting, it wasn’t anything great or bad and would be overthinking reading too much into these efforts. Back to the first elimination, One Eight Hundred failed to deliver as the overwhelming favourite, fading back to fourth in the stretch. A big rebound would be no surprise considering the connections, as trainer Nancy Takter looks for her second consecutive ‘Pace’. If anything can be taken by the lack of clarity right now in the three-year-old pacing colt division, the Meadowlands Pace final is as intriguing of a race that a fan or horseplayer will find. The ‘Pace’ final should provide great entertainment and a big update on the ‘Road to the Pepsi North America Cup’. The interesting Meadowlands Pace eliminations provide a minimal shakeup for this week’s rankings. Perfect Sting returns to the number-one position. American Courage, who will look to prove himself on the big track, moves down to number-two. Bulldog Hanover remains number-three, as the Jack Darling trainee awaits the next Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event. The lone horse to debut on the rankings this week is Chase H Hanover. The Scott Cox trainee finished third in the first ‘Pace’ elimination, which came on the heels of a third-place finish in the Messenger. This week’s full rankings are listed below. The $1 million Pepsi North America Cup takes place on Saturday, September 11 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Eliminations are scheduled for the week prior on Saturday, September 4. Road to the NA Cup – July 13, 2021 Record: Starts-1st-2nd-3rd (Earnings) 1 – Perfect Sting (Last Week: #2) Owner: Brittany Farms, Val D’or Farms Trainer: Joe Holloway Driver: David Miller 2021: 4-2-1-1 ($101,677) Life: 14-12-1-1 ($635,977) Time: 1:48.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 3rd in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 2 – American Courage (Last Week: #1) Owner: Fiddlers Creek Stables L Trainer: Travis Alexander Driver: Matt Kakaley 2021: 5-4-0-0 ($292,375) Life: 13-11-0-0 ($472,633) Time: 1:49.4 (Pocono) Last Week: 3rd in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 3 – Bulldog Hanover (Last Week: #3) Owner: Jack Darling Stables, Brad Grant Trainer: Jack Darling Driver: Jody Jamieson 2021: 2-1-0-0 ($81,160) Life: 8-5-1-0 ($330,010) Time: 1:49.1 (Woodbine Mohawk Park) Last Week: Did Not Race 4 – Southwind Gendry (Last Week: #5) Owner: Burke Racing Stable, Phillip Collura, Knox Services, JandT Silva Purnel & Libb Trainer: Ron Burke Driver: Yannick Gingras 2021: 5-3-2-0 ($151,772) Life: 18-13-2-1 ($734,841) Time: 1:49.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 1st in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 5 – Lawless Shadow (Last Week: #6) Owner: Dr. Ian Moore, R G McGroup Ltd, Serge Savard, Frank Cannon Trainer: Dr. Ian Moore Driver: Bob McClure 2021: 6-3-2-1 ($63,056) Life: 15-7-5-2 ($370,680) Time: 1:50 (Scioto) Last Week: 2nd in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 6 – Abuckabett Hanover (Last Week: #4) Owner: Crawford Farms Racing, Alagna Racing, Jablonsky Held Stable, Barbera Wienick Stable Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Andrew McCarthy 2021: 6-4-0-0 ($95,186) Life: 18-8-1-2 ($289,415) Time: 1:49.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 5th in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 7 – One Eight Hundred (Last Week: #7) Owner: Brixton Medical Inc, Nancy Taker Trainer: Nancy Takter Driver: Tim Tetrick 2021: 9-6-0-0 ($93,910) Life: 14-7-1-1 ($110,708) Time: 1:48 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 4th in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 8 – Chase H Hanover (Last Week: Not Ranked) Owner: Jason Ash, Scott Cox Trainer: Scott Cox Driver: Brian Sears 2021: 7-1-1-3 ($101,088) Life: 17-5-6-3 ($326,885) Time: 1:51 (Philadelphia) Last Week: 3rd in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) 9 – Second Bruiser (Last Week: #8) Owner: Stefan Piekos, Vernon Cochrane Trainer: Vernon Cochrane Driver: James MacDonald 2021: 2-1-1-0 ($49,700) Life: 7-5-1-0 ($120,525) Time: 1:50.4 (Woodbine Mohawk Park) Last Week: Did Not Race 10 – Rockyroad Hanover (Last Week: 9) Owner: Riverview Racing, Brad Grant, Kenneth Jacobs, Plouffe Head And Vj Stabl, Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Dexter Dunn 2021: 7-3-0-2 ($43,941) Life: 10-4-0-2 ($49,551) Time: 1:52.2 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 5th in Meadowlands Pace elimination at Meadowlands (07/10/21) Upcoming Races: Saturday: Meadowlands Pace – (Meadowlands) Eligible Horses: ABUCKABETT HANOVER ALWAYS A MIKI AMERICAN COURAGE AS ALWAYS BAYFIELD BEACH BETTIM AGAIN BETTOR SUN BULLDOG HANOVER CANDY TRADER CAPTAINOFROCKNROLL CAPTAINS PLACE CHASE H HANOVER CONTROL HEAVEN DEAN B HANOVER DESPERATE MAN EXPLOIT GREAT SOMEWHERE HIGHLANDBEACHSBEST ISLAND BEACH BOY JIMMY CONNOR B JK GOING WEST JOELSYY HANOVER JTS JET KINKAID SEELSTER KOMODO BEACH LAWLESS SHADOW LINEDRIVE HANOVER LOUS PEARLMAN NO BETTER JOY ONE EIGHT HUNDRED PERFECT STING PIRATE HANOVER P L OZZY PROLINE RAU RU RED RIGHT HAND ROCKYROAD HANOVER SARATOGA BLUE CHIP SECOND BRUISER SIMON SAYS HANOVER SOUTHWIND GENDRY SOUTHWIND PETYR SUMMA CUM LAUDE TWIN B EAGLE WARRAWEE WHYNOT WHICHWAYTOTHEBEACH Share This:Share
