In all aspects of life certain dates are circled on our calendars, from birthdays to anniversaries. In Harness Racing we circle the mega-stakes cards which are sure to provide thrills for owners, trainers, drivers and fans throughout the program. Saturday (June 16) marks the first of those dates in 2018 as Woodbine Mohawk Park serves up North America Cup night with over 2.6 million Canadian dollars up for grabs. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with the first of 15 races and a $50,000 guaranteed pick 5, but the stakes action gets underway in race three with the C$250,000 Armbro Flight for mare trotters. Hannelore Hanover, 2017 Dan Patch Horse of the Year, headlines the race as the likely prohibitive favorite starting from post 5 for driver Yannick Gingras and trainer Ron Burke. Her main challenger on paper starts just to her inside in post 4. Emoticon Hanover, like Hannelore Hanover, not only won her elimination last week but also a Breeders Crown in 2017. Bob McClure will drive the Luc Blais trainee. Perhaps overlooked in the race will be the second richest horse in the field. Caprice Hill closed well to finish third behind Hannelore Hanover in last week’s elimination and driver Doug McNair said she was finally feeling good in that outing. [DRF HARNESS LIVE: Watch the North America Cup card LIVE + get FREE Harness Eye PPs & real-time analysis.] “She wasn’t 100%. They changed her shoes and she was much better,” said McNair. “If Hannelore or Emoticon will get beat, it will be by her.” The C$100,000 Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational Pace is the spotlight race in the $50,000 early pick 4 that kicks off in race four. Carded as race six, the storyline focuses on 3-year-old colt Jimmy Freight as trainer Richard Moreau makes the rare move of placing him in against older foes. Top sophomores have attempted the feat in the past but more typically in the fall months rather than June. Louis Philippe Roy will be in the bike from post 5 to guide the Adriano Sorella-owned charge. “Richard Moreau makes the calls. I sign the checks and cash them. The decision (to enter) was up to him and he made it,” said Sorella on Post Time with Mike and Mike. “This is a big race for him. There are some monster horses in there.” The fireworks at Mohawk truly get started in race 9 with the first leg of an all-stakes $100,000 guaranteed pick 4. The C$415,000 Fan Hanover for 3-year-old filly pacers leads off the wager with a wide-open field. While favoritism in the Fan Hanover should sway between elimination winners Kissin In The Sand and Sudden Passing, both fillies took a much different route to this point. Kissin In The Sand was a highly regarded 2-year-old that won seven times in 14 starts during her rookie season. Much has been expected of the Nancy Johansson trainee and the daughter of Somebeachsomewhere has often delivered. Sudden Passing was completely unknown on the Grand Circuit scene prior to her 1:51 1/5 Fan Hanover elimination victory. Driver Jody Jamieson credits trainer Gregg McNair for bringing the daughter of Mach Three along perfectly. “Gregg McNair has done a wonderful job of keeping her tight and brave. She just absolutely destroyed a field of horses a couple of weeks ago in the Grassroots and they could have went to London (Gold Sire Stakes),” said Jamieson. The Fan Hanover also includes Alexis Faith, the filly that Sudden Passing defeated despite her 1-2 status as the odds-on public choice. A seven-time winner in 12 career races for trainer Casie Coleman, Alexis Faith’s defeat could be chalked up to the trip according to driver Doug McNair. “She is not as good on the lead. I really need to get her on a helmet (race from behind),” said McNair. “There are no killers in that field that I’ve seen and my filly has a lot of potential.” Sudden Passing will start from post 2, one spot to the inside of Kissin In The Sand. Alexis Faith has post 6. Three-year-old trotters take center stage in the tenth race C$266,000 Goodtimes with elimination winners Wolfgang and Alarm Detector likely to garner a good deal of the public attention. Wolfgang dominated his competition in his first start of the year with a 1:52 2/5 victory for trainer Jimmy Takter and driver Yannick Gingras. The son of My Mvp has already earned over $250,000 in his career while winning four of 11 races. “I’m very happy with the way he went last week,” said Gingras to USTA’s Ken Weingartner. “It was his first time out and he was loaded with trot. I think he did it the right way and I think he’s got a big chance.” Alarm Detector has a near-flawless career record with just one blemish in eight outings. His elimination win was slightly less impressive than Wolfgang as he rated on the front and held sway in 1:53 1/5. Trevor Henry will guide the Benoit Baillargeon trainee from post 3. Wolfgang starts from post 4. The penultimate stakes race on the card is the C$370,000 Roses Are Red for mare pacers. Tequila Monday and Blazin Britches earned their spots in the final with wins in last Saturday’s eliminations, but all eyes in the eleventh race will likely be on a fourth-place finisher from last week’s preliminary round. Shartin N leads all Standardbreds in 2018 North American earnings with $420,323. Unfortunately she tends to act up at times and made an early break in her elimination, which had the Jim King Jr trainee sitting last with three quarters of the race complete. A testament to her natural ability, Shartin N powered home with a 25 3/5 final quarter to finish fourth (eventually placed fifth) and nail down a spot on the gate for the Final. Shartin N starts from post 7 with regular driver Tim Tetrick at the controls. Tequila Monday and Blazin Britches begin from posts 3 and 4, respectively. The stakes action reaches its crescendo with the C$1,000,000 North America Cup for 3-year-old pacers. A trio of elimination winners – Stay Hungry, Wes Delight and Lather Up – starting from posts two, three and four, respectively, join seven others vying for Canada’s richest Standardbred race. Stay Hungry is the golden child of the trio. A Breeders Crown winner in this division as a 2-year-old, he entered 2018 as one of the favorites to capture these Grand Circuit stakes. Trained by Tony Alagna, Stay Hungry did what was required by bursting off cover in the stretch with a 26-second final quarter to win his elimination in 1:50. Driver Doug McNair admitted that he is unlikely to be part of the early scrum for the lead on Saturday. “There should be a lot of speed in there. I think I have the right horse (to win) but he’ll need the right trip,” said McNair. Both Wes Delight and Lather Up displayed signs of ability in their 2-year-old seasons, but they have raised their games to new heights in 2018. Wes Delight won his elimination with driver Corey Callahan by just a neck in 1:50 2/5, once again showing the stretch determination that make champions. Lather Up ran his seasonal record to 5-for-5 with an eye-catching three-move 1:49 2/5 elimination win for driver Montrell Teague. With a pair of sub 1:50 marks on his résumé and seemingly no bottom to his tank, he will undoubtedly be the post time favorite in the Final. While the elimination winners deserve the spotlight, the North America Cup field is stacked from top to bottom with contenders. Done Well (post 7, Tim Tetrick driving) took his first career defeat in six starts at the hands of Stay Hungry last week, but he clearly had the tougher trip while losing by only a head. Nutcracker Sweet, who Tetrick opted off in the final and will be driven by David Miller, and St Lads Neptune, a son of Mach Three for Team Jamieson (co-owner Carl, co-owner and driver Jody, and his wife Stephanie as trainer), also earned second-place finishes in their eliminations. St Lads Neptune actually has finished second in all three of his starts this year, something Jody Jamieson is hoping will change on Saturday. “We haven’t been balls to the wall with him yet. We only got him from my dad (Carl) last winter,” said Jamieson. “After Lather Up this race is wide open. It will all depend on health and trips.” The field also contains Lost In Time, last year’s divisional champion, American History, owner of a 1:49 1/5 win already this year, and Hayden Hanover and Hitman Hill starting from difficult outside posts 9 and 10, respectively. Approximate post time for the North America Cup is 10:40 p.m., about an hour prior to a potentially huge payday for those that select the winning Jackpot Hi-5 combination in the 15th race finale. The mandatory payout pool was over $150,000 heading into Thursday action and will be up for grabs Saturday if no single winner hits the wager on the two prior cards.