MILTON, July 22, 2021 – In the fallout of a wild Meadowlands Pace, the “Road to the NA Cup’ has some movers as the path clears slightly for Canada’s most prestigious harness race. Mark McKelvie of Woodbine Entertainment continues to provide his weekly rankings in the lead-up to the 38th Pepsi North America Cup on Saturday, September 11 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The rotation atop McKelvie’s rankings is on hold for this week, but number one contender Perfect Sting has a pair of Ontario sired stars breathing right down his neck. Dr. Ian Moore’s Lawless Shadow was vaulted up from second to first in the $700,000 Meadowlands Pace following the disqualification of Charlie May (not eligible to the NA Cup). While the placing will be a decision scrutinized for years, Lawless Shadow’s effort cannot be questioned, as the Shadow Play colt turned in his second consecutive large performance and arguably would’ve won the race had he shook loose a few strides earlier. After the Dq your new Meadowlands Pace winner Lawless Shadow. pic.twitter.com/87O8VIWwf5 — DRF Harness (@DRFHarness) July 18, 2021 A wild affair from start to finish, the Meadowlands Pace saw Perfect Sting used hard early, rocketing from the rail to protect position, pulling from third at the opening-quarter and facing pressure on the lead right down to the wire. The Joe Holloway trainee crossed the wire a game third (placed up to second), beat half a length. Perfect Sting maintains his number one ranking narrowly in the fallout of the Meadowlands Pace. The son of Always B Miki is not the dominant monster many anticipated, but rather a talented workhorse that will likely win or be right there in the mix in all of this year’s marquee events. Ranking the top ‘Cup’ contenders continues to provide hot debate, however, with each passing week, the Ontario sired contenders of Lawless Shadow and Bulldog Hanover are unquestionably in the mix for the top spot. Bulldog Hanover returned to action last Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, moving to the lead in the second-quarter and sprinting home in :26.1 for a strong 1:49.4 score. ‘Cup’ eligible Second Bruiser finished runner-up by half a length. Trained by Jack Darling, Bulldog Hanover has now posted back-to-back victories to improve to two for three this season. The Shadow Play colt bested Lawless Shadow and several other ‘Cup’ eligible horses in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event on July 3. His latest victory provided a nice follow-up to his statement win in the OSS and has plenty of buzz regarding his ‘Cup’ chances. Bulldog Hanover and Lawless Shadow will lock horns this Sunday evening at Georgian Downs in one of two $99,800 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold divisions. 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 22, 2021 Record: Starts-1st-2nd-3rd (Earnings) 1 – Perfect Sting (Last Week: #1) Owner: Brittany Farms, Val D’or Farms Trainer: Joe Holloway Driver: David Miller 2021: 5-2-2-1 ($267,927) Life: 15-12-2-1 ($802,227) Time: 1:48.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 3rd Placed 2nd in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 2 – Lawless Shadow (Last Week: #5) Owner: Dr. Ian Moore, R G McGroup Ltd, Serge Savard, Frank Cannon Trainer: Dr. Ian Moore Driver: Bob McClure, Mark MacDonald 2021: 7-4-2-1 ($395,556) Life: 16-8-5-2 ($703,180) Time: 1:48.3 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 2nd Placed 1st in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 3 – Bulldog Hanover (Last Week: #3) Owner: Jack Darling Stables, Brad Grant Trainer: Jack Darling Driver: Jody Jamieson 2021: 3-2-0-0 ($92,160) Life: 9-6-1-0 ($341,010) Time: 1:49.1 (Woodbine Mohawk Park) Last Week: 1st in Non-Winners of 6 Races or $95,000 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/17/21) 4 – Southwind Gendry (Last Week: #4) Owner: Burke Racing Stable, Phillip Collura, Knox Services, JandT Silva Purnel & Libb Trainer: Ron Burke Driver: Yannick Gingras 2021: 6-3-2-1 ($231,572) Life: 19-13-2-2 ($814,641) Time: 1:49.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 4th Placed 3rd in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 5 – American Courage (Last Week: #2) Owner: Fiddlers Creek Stables L Trainer: Travis Alexander Driver: Matt Kakaley 2021: 6-4-0-0 ($299,375) Life: 14-11-0-0 ($479,633) Time: 1:49.4 (Pocono) Last Week: 7th Placed 6th in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 6 – One Eight Hundred (Last Week: #7) Owner: Brixton Medical Inc, Nancy Taker Trainer: Nancy Takter Driver: Tim Tetrick 2021: 10-6-0-0 ($93,910) Life: 15-7-1-1 ($110,708) Time: 1:48 (Meadowlands) Last Week: Did Not Finish (Broken Equipment) in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 7 – Abuckabett Hanover (Last Week: #6) Owner: Crawford Farms Racing, Alagna Racing, Jablonsky Held Stable, Barbera Wienick Stable Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Andrew McCarthy 2021: 7-4-0-0 ($102,186) Life: 19-8-1-2 ($296,415) Time: 1:49.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 9th Placed 8th in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 8 – Chase H Hanover (Last Week: #8) Owner: Jason Ash, Scott Cox Trainer: Scott Cox Driver: Brian Sears 2021: 8-1-1-3 ($154,288) Life: 18-5-6-3 ($380,085) Time: 1:51 (Philadelphia) Last Week: 5th Placed 4th in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) 9 – Second Bruiser (Last Week: #9) Owner: Stefan Piekos, Vernon Cochrane Trainer: Vernon Cochrane Driver: James MacDonald 2021: 3-1-2-0 ($55,200) Life: 8-5-2-0 ($126,025) Time: 1:50.4 (Woodbine Mohawk Park) Last Week: 2nd in Non-Winners of 6 or $95,000 at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/17/21) 10 – Rockyroad Hanover (Last Week: 10) Owner: Riverview Racing, Brad Grant, Kenneth Jacobs, Plouffe Head And Vj Stabl, Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Dexter Dunn 2021: 8-3-0-2 ($50,941) Life: 11-4-0-2 ($56,551) Time: 1:52.2 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 8th Placed 7th in Meadowlands Pace at Meadowlands (07/17/21) Upcoming Races: Saturday: Adios – Eliminations (The Meadows – Pennsylvania) Sunday: Ontario Sired Stakes – Gold (Georgian – Ontario) 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
