WEG releases stakes nominees

Nominations for most stakes events were due on February 15 and with a sustaining payment quickly approaching on March 15, the full lists of nominees to each event are now available for public viewing. 

As announced last week, the Pepsi North America Cup attracted 60 nominees, up from 58 in 2016.

Many events saw numbers hold steady, while several marquee events saw a jump in nominees.

The $650,000 Canadian Trotting Classic for three-year-old trotters attracted 89 nominees, up from 78 in 2016.

Dan Patch Award winner Walner is among the nominees to Canada’s feature race for sophomore trotters. The son of Chapter Seven won seven of eight starts as a rookie and trotted a World Record mile of 1:51.3 at The Red Mile for trainer Linda Toscano.

O’Brien Award winner Mass Production, Wellwood Memorial winner Seven And Seven and Valley Victory winner Snowstorm Hanover are also among the eligible trotters.

2016 Canadian Pacing Derby winner Wiggle It Jiggleit is eligible to defend his title, as he is one of 42 older pacers nominated to the 2017 event. George Teague’s stable star won 15 of 24 starts in his four-year-old season to improve his career record to 38 wins in 51 starts.

The $600,000 Maple Leaf Trot has attracted 45 nominees, up from 36 in 2016.

Defending champion Resolve is on the list once again. The Ake Svanstedt trainee won a thrilling 2016 Maple Leaf Trot over superstar mare Hannelore Hanover, who is also nominated to this year’s event.

2016 Triple Crown winner Marion Marauder will jump up to the older ranks this season and is eligible to the Maple Leaf Trot.

The group of 45 nominees also includes a pair of European trotters.

Tuonoblu Rex, a five-year-old son of Cantab Hall, and Pasithea Face, a five-year-old trotting mare by Muscle Hill, have both been nominated to the Maple Leaf Trot.

Tuonoblu Rex is owned by Stable Why Not from the Netherlands. The son of Cantab Hall has won six of 14 career starts with his most recent start taking place in Germany during October.

Pasithea Face is owned by Courant AB of Sweden and trained by Lutfi Kolgjini. The five-year-old trotting mare recently won her 2017 debut on February 25 to give her seven wins in 27 career starts.

Nomination numbers for WEG’s marquee two-year-old events saw increases for the colts, while the fillies held steady.

The $700,000 Metro Pace for two-year-old pacing colts saw the biggest leap, as 205 rookies have been nominated to the 2017 event, up from 169 in 2016.

The $350,000 William Wellwood Memorial for two-year-old trotting colts jumped from 162 nominees in 2016 to 174 nominees for this year’s edition.

The $500,000 Shes A Great Lady for two-year-old pacing fillies attracted 159 nominees for the 2017 edition, down just slightly from 162 in 2016.

The $350,000 Peaceful Way for two-year-old trotting fillies saw neither an increase nor decrease in nominees, as 164 trotting fillies were nominated for the second consecutive year.

The rest of the nomination totals for WEG stakes are listed below.

Armbro Flight (Trotting Mares) – 31

Casual Breeze (3YO Trotting Fillies) – 83

Elegantimage (3YO Trotting Fillies) – 79

Eternal Camnation (2YO Pacing Fillies) – 142

Fan Hanover (3YO Pacing Fillies) – 69

Goodtimes (3YO Trotters) – 74

Milton (Pacing Mares) – 48

Nassagaweya (2YO Pacers) – 164

Roses Are Red (Pacing Mares) – 47

Somebeachsomewhere (3YO Pacers) – 52

To view the lists of eligible horses for each stakes event, click here.

The first round of sustaining payments for these events is quickly approaching. Sustaining payments are due next Wednesday (March 15). For more information, click here.