Mohawk: Enterprise, International Moni score victories in Goodtimes Stakes eliminations
Enterprise remained undefeated and International Moni went from worst to first in the pair of C$30,000 Goodtimes Stakes eliminations for 3-year-old colt trotters on Friday night at Mohawk Racetrack.
With Tim Tetrick off his drives for the evening, David Miller picked up the live catch-drive behind Enterprise in the second elimination, and he would send him directly to the point, where he would click off unpressured fractions of 27 4/5, 56 4/5, and 1:25 1/5. Enterprise began to ease away from the rest of the field in the stretch, and he would go on to beat AWOL Hanover (James MacDonald) by two lengths in a 1:53 1/5 mile. Shake It Off Lindy (Brett Miller), Mass Production (Rick Zeron), and Southwind Cobra (Yannick Gingras) rounded out the top five finishers who advanced to next Saturday night's C$251,000 final.
"He scored down good, and he felt very strong the whole way," offered David Miller. "Nobody really pushed him out of the gate, and he relaxed the second quarter. In the third quarter he did lean in a bit but nothing too serious, and he was strong through the stretch."
Marcus Melander trains Enterprise, a Chapter Seven colt, for owner Courant Inc. Enterprise has won in all five of his lifetime attempts, and he has now put away C$52,450. The 1-2 public choice, Enterprise paid $3.10 to win.
While that elimination was relatively uneventful, the first one was anything but as International Moni (Scott Zeron) rallied from the clouds to win in 1:54.
Jake (Sylvain Filion) and Guardian Angel As (Brett Miller) would take turns on top through the 28 1/5 and 56 3/5 opening half in that elimination, with Southwind Woody (Yannick Gingras) then coming first-over and taking a narrow lead at the 1:25 1/5 three-quarters.
In the stretch Guardian Angel As battled back on the inside to regain a clear lead and appeared poised to claim victory, but International Moni, who was ninth and last at the half and eighth at three-quarters, was full of trot on the end of the mile, getting up to beat Guardian Angel As by a neck. Jake wound up third, followed by public choice Seven And Seven (David Miller) and Southwind Woody.
"He's very, very handy," said Zeron. "He's the easiest horse in the world to drive, so it was just about having him finish strong at the wire. To do what he did tonight was not unexpected, but to be in the position I was and to finish like he did, it was really nice to see.
"He has a very beautiful gait to him and a good mouth, so he makes it easy for me, and he can put himself in definitely more aggressive positions than we were tonight. I think he's going to be a fun horse for the year, and it was a great start."
International Moni, a colt by Love You, is trained by Frank Antonacci for owner/breeder Moni Maker Stable. The next-to-last foal out of the great Moni Maker, International Moni now has two wins in his career, although he did finish second and third in last year's Valley Victory and William Wellwood Memorial, and he has now earned C$206,763. International Moni was sent off at 14-1 in his first pari-mutuel start of 2017, and he returned $31.80 to win.
Here is how the field will line up for the final:
1. Shake It Off Lindy
2. International Moni
3. Jake
4. Enterprise
5. Southwind Woody
6. Seven And Seven
7. Mass Production
8. Southwind Cobra
9. AWOL Hanover
10. Guardian Angel As
AE: Manssive