Woodbine Mohawk Park: Elimiantions held for Goodtimes, Roses Are Red

Elimination weekend at Woodbine Mohawk Park kicked off Friday with splits for the Goodtimes and Roses Are Red. A pair of eliminations were required for both events, with the Goodtimes for 3-year-old trotters battling for C$30,000 an elimination and the Roses Are Red for pacing mares at C$35,000 a piece.

Top Mast powered up to win a three-horse photo in the first Goodtimes elimination.

Driven by Sylvain Filion for Desiree Jones, Top Mast showed early speed and would sit third throughout. Shermont made the lead at the quarter, then posted clips of 27 3/5, 56 and 1:24 3/5. Pick Pocket sat right behind for a two-hole trip. In the stretch, the three leaders would square off right down to the wire, with Top Mast reaching up to win by a head over Pick Pocket and a neck over Shermont in 1:53 4/5. Goober Smack finished fourth, while Finite was fifth to make the final.

"I (thought) 'I'm just going to stay here (in third) and see what happens,'" said Filion about the trip. "Eventually it worked out for us. It goes to say you need luck to win big races. I knew the two front horses were battling hard, and I was just staying covered up as long as I could. When I moved him and pulled the plugs, he went on."

Top Mast is now one-for-two to launch his 3-year-old season for owner Gino Toscani. The son of Walner won three of 10 starts at age two, banking over C$150,000. The victory of 1:53 4/5 was a new lifetime-best. Top Mast returned $16.90 to win.

The much-hyped Highland Kismet lived up the noise by scoring a comfortable 1:54 win in the second Goodtimes elimination.

Driver Bob McClure took his time with Highland Kismet in a short field by getting away fifth and making a first-up march around the far turn. The heavy favorite got up to leader Winter Soldier at the head of the lane and trotted away for the victory. Private Access followed the winner with a good kicker to finish second, beat a length and three-quarters. Winter Soldier settled for third, while Griff and Myretirementdream completed the top-five.

Trained by Mark Etsell, Highland Kismet is now three-for-four to begin his career and has impressed many.

"This horse can give you a lot of confidence," said McClure. "When I moved him over tonight it was just hang on and go. He puts his head down and takes off on you. He wants to win. He wants to chase them down."

A son of Father Patrick, Highland Kismet is a homebred for Highland Thoroughbred Farm and has now made C$37,000. He paid $3.30 to win.

Winners Top Mast and Highland Kismet secured a post position anywhere from two to six by winning their respective eliminations. Below is the draw for next Saturday's C$225,000 Goodtimes final.

1 – Pick Pocket
2 – Finite
3 – Private Access
4 – Goober Smack
5 – Top Mast
6 – Highland Kismet
7 – Myretirementdream
8 – Winter Soldier
9 – Shermont
10 – Griff
AE – R Peaky Blinders

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Twin B Joe Fresh kicked off the Roses Are Red eliminations with a blowout victory for driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Chris Ryder.

Making her third start as a 4-year-old, Twin B Joe Fresh got away fourth and was on the move early in the second quarter. Prohibition Legal moved from third and was stretched a bit by Grace Hill to the half in 54 3/5 before she took control. Twin B Joe Fresh wasted little time overtaking the new leader entering the far turn, though, and opened up a few lengths of separation at three-quarters in 1:21 4/5. The stretch drive saw a wrapped-up Twin B Joe Fresh cruise to a 4 1/4 length triumph in 1:50 4/5.

So Much More stayed to the rail after getting away seventh and finished second. Tells On A Roll rallied from sixth to finish third. Valar Dohaeris and Grace Hill got through some traffic to round out the top five, as Prohibition Legal came to a walk and backed up to finish outside the final.

A daughter of Roll With Joe, Twin B Joe Fresh has returned in fine form to begin taking on older foes.

"She's so relaxed you can do anything you want with her," said Dunn. "When I saw 1:21 4/5 pop up I was sort of trying to make sure I didn't get up the home straight too quick on her. She was doing it really good and I'm really pleased with her."

Dunn shares ownership of Twin B Joe Fresh with Ryder, Peter Trebotica and Barry Spak. She’s now a 21-time winner and has made over C$1.5 million in her outstanding career. Twin B Joe Fresh paid $2.10 to win.

Always B Naughty made a loud statement in the second elimination, posting a 1:49 3/5 front-end score.

Driven by Louis-Philippe Roy, Always B Naughty surged out and would keep Silver Label to the outside through a wicked 25 3/5 opening quarter. Silver Label took back into second and followed Always B Naughty through fractions of 54 3/5 and 1:22 2/5. In the stretch, Always B Naughty closed things out with a powerful 27 1/5 kicker to win by a length and three-quarters. Sylvia Hanover came first-up to finish second, while Kobes Gigi, Talk Curdy To Me and Silver Label completed the top-five.

Trained by Nancy Takter, Always B Naughty was just one-for-five this season entering Friday, but had finished second in her last two starts.

"Nancy texted me earlier today and said she's a pretty honest mare and you can use her a couple times as long as you get her a breather at some point," said Roy. "I knew with the short field, once we were going to get into position no one was going to risk their spot in the elim by trying to move."

A 4-year-old daughter of Always B Miki, Always B Naughty is now an 11-time winner with nearly C$550,000 earned for owners Let It Ride Stable, Odds On Racing, R B H Ventures and Takter. Always B Naughty paid $7.20 to win.

Elimination winners again earned a starting spot from post two through six with their victories.

Below is the draw for the C$305,000 Roses Are Red final on June 15.

1 – Talk Curdy To Me
2 – Silver Label
3 – Always B Naughty
4 – Twin B Joe Fresh
5 – Tells On A Roll
6 – Sylvia Hanover
7 – Valar Dohaeris
8 – So Much More
9 – Grace Hill
10 – Kobes Gigi
AE – Dabarndawgswatchin

Live racing continues Saturday night with the eliminations for the Pepsi North America Cup taking center stage. The eliminations for the Armbro Flight and Fan Hanover will also be held. Post time is 7:10 p.m. (EDT).

--press release (Woodbine Mohawk Park)--