Harness Racing: Three supplement to Breeders Crown at Woodbine

Two sophomores, colt pacer Michael’s Power and colt trotter Intimidate, along with mare pacer Rebeka Bayama were supplemented to their respective Breeders Crown divisions by the noon deadline on Monday, Oct. 15.

The US$6 million Breeders Crown events will be contested on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.

With the 3-year-old colt pace division still seeking a leader, Little Brown Jug winner Michael’s Power (Camluck-Michelle’s Jackpot) deserved a chance to go for the title according to his connections, owner Jeff Snyder and trainer Casie Coleman. Snyder talked about supplementing at a cost of US$62,500 after the colt’s runner-up effort in the OSS Gold Final last Friday to Breeders Crown eligible Mel Mara. Coleman won the 3-year-old colt pace at Woodbine in 2011 in a mild upset with Betterthancheddar.

“He wasn’t eligible because in past years the Ontario Gold Stakes Final has conflicted with the Breeders Crown,” said owner Jeff Snyder by phone from Arizona on his way home to New York from business in Hong Kong. “This is the first year it hasn’t and I just didn’t make him eligible to the Crown because of that. As it is the Gold Final is Nov. 10 at Woodbine which gives him two weeks off and fits in well with the schedule.

“The horse is in good shape and deserves a chance to be in the race. He is also the leading money-winner (Michael’s Power has earned $1,311,912 this year) for 3-year-old pacers, so that helped with the fee, and he has a shot to do well. We also plan to race him as a 4-year old.”

Quebec-owned Intimidate, a son of Justice Hall-Fabulous Tag, sports a record of 10 wins and three seconds in 14 starts this year for $120,645 in earnings and a record of 1:53 1/5, though he’s raced recently in conditional rather than stakes company. Owned by Judith Farrow and Luc Blais, who also trains the 3-year-old gelding, the supplemental fee of US$62,500 will pit him against Breeders Crown eligibles such as defending Crown champ Uncle Peter, Hambletonian winner Market Share and Kentucky Futurity winner My MVP. Those entries are due Tuesday.

The supplements raise the purses for both the 3-year-old colt pace and trot to US$555,000.

Rebeka Bayama, a 5-year-old homebred daughter of Leader Bayama-Joyce Bayama with lifetime earnings of $623,408, was the only other supplement. Owner Yves Filion’s Bayama Farms wrote a check for US$37,500 to race in the Breeders Crown Mare Pace, now worth US$331,500. Rebeka Bayama’s last win came on Sept. 8 in the fillies and mares open at Mohawk in 1:50 3/5 and her win in the Golden Girls at the Meadowlands in August showed she can go with top tier of pacing mares, all of whom are eligible to the Crown.

Filion, patriarch of the Bayama dynasty, reported that Rebeka Bayama schooled behind the gate at Mohawk last Saturday and would supplement off that training mile.

The finalists for the 12 Breeders Crown Finals will be determined through elimination races this Friday and Saturday night (entries drawn Oct. 16) at Woodbine. Eliminations for all 2-year-olds will be raced on Friday [post time 7:30 p.m.] and eliminations for all 3-year-olds and up will be Saturday [post time 7:30 p.m.]. Elimination winners may pick their post position for the finals.

The US$6 million divisional championships finals are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 27, at Woodbine Racetrack. Special post time is 6:30 p.m.

#BreedersCrown will be the official handle for the events on Twitter and you can view the Crown facebook page at here.

Complete coverage of the Breeders Crown and live video for the finals will be available on DRF.com. You can also follow the events leading up to the big day on the DRFHarness facebook and twitter pages.