MILTON, July 6, 2021 – With the heart of the Grand Circuit season quickly approaching, the three-year-old pacing colts and geldings appear poised to provide great entertainment for racing fans in Ontario and across North America. Woodbine’s Mark McKelvie has released his latest rankings of the top Pepsi North America Cup eligible horses following an eventful weekend in harness racing. The $500,000 Messenger and the first OSS Gold event of the season were the main events on the ‘Road the NA Cup’. American Courage is the new number one on McKelvie’s list following his victory in Friday’s Messenger, the first leg of Pacing’s Triple Crown. The Travis Alexander trainee is a perfect four for four this season and has just one loss in 12 career starts. As handy as they come on a half-mile oval, American Courage will be put to the biggest test of his career in the upcoming Meadowlands Pace, as he looks to solidify his top-ranking position. Back at home, Bulldog Hanover was the talk of the town following an ultra-impressive 1:49.1 victory in Saturday’s OSS Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park. The Jack Darling trainee overcame post-ten and an entire mile on the outside to claim a career-best score. ‘Bulldog’ now has five wins in eight career starts. Darling noted post-race that his stable star will remain in Ontario through the summer and not head to the United States until following the OSS Super Final. This weekend’s Meadowlands Pace eliminations will feature seven of McKelvie’s top-ten ranked ‘Cup’ contenders. American Courage, Perfect Sting, Abuckabett Hanover, Southwind Gendry, Lawless Shadow, One Eight Hundred and Rockyroad Hanover are seven of the 14 horses entered in this Saturday’s Meadowlands Pace eliminations. This week’s full rankings can be viewed below. All eyes will be focused on The Meadowlands for the next two Saturday evenings. The Pepsi North America Cup has traditionally taken a spot on the racing calendar prior to the Meadowlands Pace. A ‘Cup-Pace Double’ is arguably one of the most prestigious combinations in racing and was accomplished last season by Tall Dark Stranger. 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 6, 2021 Record: Starts-1st-2nd-3rd (Earnings) 1 – American Courage (Last Week: #3) Owner: Fiddlers Creek Stables L Trainer: Travis Alexander Driver: Matt Kakaley 2021: 4-4-0-0 ($288,375) Life: 12-11-0-0 ($468,633) Time: 1:49.4 (Pocono) Last Week: 1st in Messenger Final at Yonkers (07/02/21) 2 – Perfect Sting (Last Week: #2) Owner: Brittany Farms, Val D’or Farms Trainer: Joe Holloway Driver: David Miller 2021: 3-2-1-0 ($95,677) Life: 13-12-1-0 ($629,977) Time: 1:48.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: Did Not Race 3 – Bulldog Hanover (Last Week: #7) 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: 1st in OSS Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/03/21) 4 – Abuckabett Hanover (Last Week: #1) Owner: Crawford Farms Racing, Alagna Racing, Jablonsky Held Stable, Barbera Wienick Stable Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Andrew McCarthy 2021: 5-4-0-0 ($92,686) Life: 16-7-1-2 ($286,915) Time: 1:49.1 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 8th in Messenger Final at Yonkers (07/02/21) 5 – Southwind Gendry (Last Week: #4) Owner: Burke Racing Stable, Phillip Collura, Knox Services, JandT Silva Purnel & Libb Trainer: Ron Burke Driver: Yannick Gingras 2021: 4-2-2-0 ($126,772) Life: 17-12-2-1 ($709,841) Time: 1:49.3Q (Meadowlands) Last Week: Did Not Race 6 – Lawless Shadow (Last Week: #5) Owner: Dr. Ian Moore, R G McGroup Ltd, Serge Savard, Frank Cannon Trainer: Dr. Ian Moore Driver: Bob McClure 2021: 5-3-1-1 ($50,556) Life: 14-7-4-2 ($358,180) Time: 1:50 (Scioto) Last Week: 3rd in OSS Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/03/21) 7 – One Eight Hundred (Last Week: #6) Owner: Brixton Medical Inc, Nancy Taker Trainer: Nancy Takter Driver: Tim Tetrick 2021: 8-6-0-0 ($89,910) Life: 13-7-1-1 ($106,708) Time: 1:48 (Meadowlands) Last Week: Did Not Race 8 – 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: 2nd in OSS Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/03/21) 9 – Rockyroad Hanover (Last Week: 10) Owner: Riverview Racing, Brad Grant, Kenneth Jacobs, Plouffe Head And Vj Stabl, Trainer: Tony Alagna Driver: Dexter Dunn 2021: 6-3-0-2 ($41,441) Life: 9-4-0-2 ($47,051) Time: 1:52.2 (Meadowlands) Last Week: Did Not Race 10 – P L Ozzy (Last Week: Not Ranked) Owner: Amanda Fine Trainer: Amanda Fine Driver: Louis-Philippe Roy 2021: 9-4-0-1 ($43,694) Life: 9-4-0-1 ($43,694) Time: 1:49.3 (Meadowlands) Last Week: 4th in OSS Gold at Woodbine Mohawk Park (07/03/21) Upcoming Races: Saturday: Meadowlands Pace – Eliminations (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
