Woodbine Mohawk Park: Bold Eagle flies in Breeders Crown Open Trot

France’s Bold Eagle made his trip to Canada for the $500,000 (US) Breeders Crown Open Trot a winning one as driver Brian Sears guided the 8-year-old son of Ready Cash to a command performance victory over an off surface at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night.

Bold Eagle got away fourth as Lindy The Great jetted to the front in the early stages, cutting a 26 2/5 opening quarter while rivals Atlanta and Guardian Angel AS settled in behind.

Sears wasted little time in going on the offensive with Bold Eagle and turning into the backstretch sent the $5.3 million-winning international star on a mission to gain command, which he did through a 55 2/5 first-half clocking.

Six Pack and Ake Svanstedt had left the gate hard from post 10 and waited in the early stages for Bold Eagle to get on the move, and then once that happened, he was left without cover. Six Pack continued to march forward through three-quarters in 1:24, and turning into the stretch was a serious threat. Also looking for a shot was Atlanta and Yannick Gingras as that pair angled out with a shot to track down Bold Eagle.

Brian Sears looked confident and comfortable heading into the stretch, but he kept asking Bold Eagle to trot, and trot he did right through the wire, coming a final quarter in 28 seconds flat and scoring in a respectable 1:52 clocking in his first North American appearance. Six Pack was valiant in second, with Atlanta up for third. Lindy The Great and Marion Marauder rounded out the top five.

“He was a little tough scoring down. Everything went pretty smooth after that,” Sears said. “He dug in down by the wire.”

Sebastien Guarato trains Bold Eagle, who won for the third time this year in just 10 starts. Ecurie P Pilarski owns Bold Eagle, who returned $5.70 and was the post time favorite. Jean-Etienne Dubois bred Bold Eagle.

“We’re very satisfied,” said Pierre Pilarski, the winning owner. “It was a long trip to come here. I promised John Campbell two years ago, and it worked out this year.”