Woodbine Mohawk Park: Analysis for Saturday 8/29/26

Top Pick Stats: 471/1499 (-$790.90)

Best Bets: 57/135 (-$51.30); Spot Plays: 30/138 (-$95.00)

Best Bet: GIOS HOPE (Race 9)

Spot Play: COLD CREEK QUESO (Race 12)

Early Pick-5: 1,4/1,8/1/2,8/4 $1.60

Middle Pick-5: 3/5,6/7,9/3/1,3 $1.60

Late Pick-5: 7,9/3/1,3/4,7/2,6,7,8,12 $8.00

Race 1: 3 YEAR OLD COLTS & GELDINGS: GRASSROOTS STARTERS.

(4) WHOLETTHEDOGSOUT comes off a sharp win against Grassroots foes, some of whom he gets right back in against tonight. Post draw favors him. (1) ILLICIT BEHAVIOR was well back last week but charged home late for a check. A cleaner setup should see him get a big chunk. (7) TILTHECOWSCOMEHOME couldn’t get by a sharp Exactly Correct in the stretch but still raced well. He should be in the mix again.

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Race 2: ETERNAL CAMNATION: (GR 3). 2 YEAR OLD FILLIES. STARTING FEE $1,000 CDN $775 USD.

(8) WAVES OF FORTUNE cruised in the latest Gold but will need to bring her A-Game against familiar rivals. (1) HEAVENS TOUCH gets an interesting nod from Louis Roy tonight. She had a wall of fillies in front of her last week and some obvious pace. (2) TREACHEROUS NOVA looked sharp when sustaining her first over move and getting the job done. She deserves a long look.

Race 3: FILLIES & MARES OPEN.

(1) TWIN B JOE FRESH becomes the queen of this class after the loss of her main rival for the rest of the season. I’ve tried to get big favorites beaten in preps before. Not this time. (5) LOUIES GIRL N hasn’t won in a minute but has been dancing all the dances and stringing together quality efforts. (7) FRANCENT N will be supplementing to the Milton and gets a chance to prove herself against the top mares in the division.

Race 4: ETERNAL CAMNATION: (GR 3). 2 YEAR OLD FILLIES. STARTING FEE $1,000 CDN $775 USD.

(2) JERSEY BULLDOG has displayed a sharp turn of foot but needs to avoid briefly hanging in the stretch. I’ll give her the nod to outsprint them late. (8) MONEY CARLO held strongly for most of the mile and didn’t surrender second when it wound up being a four across finish. Post may force J-Mac’s hand early. (4) TWIN B MAYREAU worked out a good trip but was logically short given the month off. New driver now and a good draw.

Race 5: CANADIAN PACING DERBY ELIMINATION: 3 YEAR OLDS & OLDER. STARTING FEE: $5,000 CDN $3,875 USD.

(4) BEST CHIP comes off a sparkling performance at The Meadowlands which has cemented him as a new top prospect in the Open pace division. I don’t think (1) CRACK SHOT was quite at his best last week but the trip certainly didn’t help. He gets around the Mohawk oval well. (6) FOR ONCE INMY LIFE adds Lasix after finally scoring against Grand Circuit level Open company. The right trip should have him in the mix again.

Race 6: NASSAGAWEYA: (GR 3). 2 YEAR OLD OPEN. STARTING FEE: $1,000 CDN $775 USD.

Hard to say anything original at the moment about (3) SHALOM HANOVER. He will cruise again. (4) YES I AM HANOVER works better off a helmet and paced home nicely when he got to the outside in his latest. (5) TH BENEDICT couldn’t sustain an outside bid after what appeared to be a strong second over tow. I’ll look for him to rebound for a piece.

Race 7: PEACEFUL WAY FINAL: (GR 1). 2 YEAR OLD FILLIES.

(6) ATHENAS GIRL stayed flat and looked very professional when racing off cover and striding by her rivals. Another clean race likely sees her take the money. (5) DATAPRIVACY stormed home and picked off everyone in the stretch for an impressive upset win. She has improved with each start. (3) VERILY watched Dataprivacy go by on the outside but closed well in her own right. She could add value to exotics with the right trip.

Race 8: CANADIAN PACING DERBY ELIMINATION: 3 YEAR OLDS & OLDER. STARTING FEE: $5,000 CDN $3,875 USD.

(7) ERVIN HANOVER was scratched sick in the Sam McKee Memorial but didn’t miss a beat in his return qualifier. He’s the one to beat here. (9) PRINCE HAL HANOVER had no business finishing second in the Dan Patch after being wide early and parked the mile. I’m wondering if the big efforts begin to catch up to him, but that hasn’t happened yet. (4) LOU HILL hasn’t brought his best in his last two efforts, but we know what he is capable of when in top shape.

Race 9: WILLIAM WELLWOOD MEMORIAL FINAL: (GR 1). 2 YEAR OLD OPEN.

(3) GIOS HOPE took care of business in his elimination and appears to have plenty more in the tank. (2) DETONATER HANOVER dug in impressively to get by Top Reacher in the other elimination. He should work out a good trip in tonight’s final. (8) FREE SCOTTIE was flying on the end of it behind Gios Hope. He still looms as a bit of an unknown that could produce a big effort.

Race 10: NASSAGAWEYA: (GR 3). 2 YEAR OLD OPEN. STARTING FEE: $1,000 CDN $775 USD.

(3) L A CAPTAIN chased Shalom Hanover last week and was best of the rest. He has shown enough as of late for me to give him a slight nod. (1) BILLY HILL again showcased that sharp turn of foot that makes him an appealing choice in this weaker division. I wasn’t sold on (5) MASCARPONE after he won on Adios Day, though it’s hard to get a read on him considering he chased Starstruck Dreamer in his last two and broke last time.

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Race 11: NW $25,000 LAST 4 STARTS. AE: NW 8 RACES LIFETIME. AE: NW 3 RACES IN 2026.

(7) DONT DROP THE BALL shattered his career best last time with a down the road score. He was able to cruise two starts ago when racing later on the card, so that isn’t a concern tonight. (4) VESSEM N was left chasing classy rivals who aren’t going to quit after a quick half like others would. He’ll be sent down the road at some point. (5) DELRAY BEACH tripped out in his latest at a giant number. He was capable of something like that given his gate speed, but I didn’t think it would be last week.

Race 12: NW $9,750 LAST 4 STARTS OR NW $18,000 LAST 8 STARTS. AE: OPT. CLM. $50,000. AE: $26,000 IN 2026 (MIN 5 STARTS). AE: NW $100 L2 STARTS. **MANDATORY HI 5 PAYOUT**

I’ll swing with (7) COLD CREEK QUESO who should appreciate the drop and is more versatile than most of these in my opinion. I’ll look for the right setup to find him. (12) DUBLIN DASHER would be the favorite if his nose was on the gate. He has displayed a sharp turn of foot lately but has the obvious negative of a second tier starting spot. It was refreshing to see (6) UNCLE SHANK A do something other than a speed try and actually remain competitive. However, he likely tries to be first to the lead tonight. (8) CHAIN GANG has been sharp in recent weeks and is another with plenty of trip options. This race can take any amount of forms and it wouldn’t surprise me. (2) PACINO HANOVER loses Cullen this week but gets a major post switch and has a similar burst to Dublin Dasher. This looks like the most competitive mandatory payout Hi-5 race to date.