Woodbine Harness: Valley Victory eliminations taken by Snowstorm Hanover, Jake
Snowstorm Hanover and Jake proved best in the two C$25,000 Valley Victory eliminations for 2-year-old colt trotters on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack.
Fresh off a victory in last Thursday's Matron at Dover, Snowstorm Hanover (Matt Kakaley) dominated in the first elimination after setting fractions of 28, 58 2/5, and 1:27. Up by 2 1/2 lengths at three-quarters, he stretched that out to 5 1/2 lengths with an eighth of a mile to go before coasting in with a 2 1/2 length margin of victory over International Moni (Scott Zeron) in a 1:55 1/5 mile. Andy M (Trevor Henry) was up for third, followed by Fraser Ridge (David Miller) and Quadrangle (Chris Christoforou).
"I wanted to put him in play, make sure he was up close, and make sure we got a spot in the final no matter what," explained Kakaley. "He's good on the front, and once I got there pretty easy, he was strong all the way through the wire. He's been very good when he's been on his game, and he was on his game tonight. He's a big, strong colt, and he's got a great gait to him."
Ron Burke trains Snowstorm Hanover, a colt by Muscle Massive, for owners Burke Racing Stable LLC., Frank Baldachino, Phil Collura, and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. It was the fifth win of Snowstorm Hanover's career in 13 starts, and he now has a bankroll of C$193,919. He was purchased for $23,000 at the Standardbred Horse Sale and is out of the Andover Hall mare Snow Angel Hanover, a half-sister to the likes of Mymomsablizzard (CR Excalibur, $480,909). Sent off at 7-2, Snowstorm Hanover paid $9.10 to win.
Moonshiner Hanover (Zeron) set a tempo of 28 3/5, 58 1/5, and 1:27 3/5 in the other elimination, but Jake (Sylvain Filion) came to the outside from the pocket in the stretch and wrestled away the lead. What The Hill (Miller), who had followed in third throughout, also got off the rail in the lane and had every chance to get past Jake, but couldn't get to him, with Jake scoring by a length and a quarter in 1:55 4/5. Southwind Cobra (Yannick Gingras) rallied in the lane to collect third, with Moonshiner Hanover holding fourth ahead of Sir John F (Kakaley).
"I think he's better right now than he ever was," said Filion. "He feels fresh and hopefully he stays like that for another week."
Jake is a Muscle Hill colt trained by Luc Blais for owner Determination. Jake now has a pair of victories from nine trips behind the gate, and he has earned C$153,966. A $100,000 buy at the Standardbred Horse Sale, Jake is the third foal out of the Andover Hall mare Poster Pin Up ($439,454), which makes him a full brother to Lookslikeachpndale ($251,970). A 7-2 shot, Jake returned $9.50 for the win.
This is how the field will line up for next Saturday night's C$404,000 final:
1-Southwind Cobra
2-Andy M
3-Jake
4-Moonshiner Hanover
5-Snowstorm Hanover
6-Quadrangle
7-International Moni
8-Fraser Ridge
9-What The Hill
10-Sir John F