Woodbine Mohawk Park: Field set for Goodtimes final after two elims

Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted a pair of C$30,000 eliminations for the Goodtimes - an event for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters - on a stakes-laden card Saturday (Sept. 4), with the elims going to Fashion Frenzie and Locatelli.

Fashion Frenzie floated to the lead from post six and had everything his own way on the front as the Archangel gelding strolled to a 1:53 2/5 victory in the first elimination of the Goodtimes.

Driver Louis-Philippe Roy sent the Richard Moreau trainee to the point with Logan Park landing into second and On A Streak protecting position from the pylons into third. Dancinginthedark M, the 4-5 favourite, raced fourth moving past a 28 2/5 first quarter and stayed put until Colonial As It pulled off the pegs approaching a 58 second half.

Flushed first-over, Dancinginthedark M ranged closer to Fashion Frenzie rounding the final turn and loomed up to the tempo-setter's wheel passing three-quarters in 1:26 2/5. But the calm fractions turned the stretch drive to a final-quarter sprint, giving Fashion Frenzie the edge on the lead as he kept Dancinginthedark M at bay to the beam with Logan Park giving chase from third. Ritson rallied for fourth, while On A Streak completed the finalists.

"[It was] a short field there - I was kind of looking for the two horse, Tim [Tetrick and Dancinginthedark M] to come back," Roy said after the race. "I don't know what happened in the first half, but after the first half in 58 they would have needed horse to sprint really fast to get by. He was kind of game up front then. My horse just responded pretty well. I'm very high on him. Like I said in the last interview with him [after winning in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series on Aug. 23] - he used to be pretty tricky in the post parade and kind of a hot trotter, and now he's getting more and more nice."

A winner in four of eight starts this season and in nine of 15 overall, Fashion Frenzie has banked C$409,765. Richard Moreau trains the $5.80 winner for owners Ecurie Francis Richard Inc., Mario Bourgea, Pierre Guillemette and Sylvain Richard.

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Locatelli lunged for the lead late as 1-5 favorite Sonofamistery went on a gallop to take the second Goodtimes elimination in 1:53 2/5.

Publicity Seeker powered to the lead with Warrawee Whisper settling into second and Sonofamistery into third moving to a 27 4/5 first quarter. Sonofamistery then swept off the pegs to the top into the backstretch and led the field by the half in 56 4/5, the point where driver Andrew McCarthy got underway with Locatelli.

Sonofamistery cruised around the final turn chased by Publicity Seeker while Locatelli made slight gains to three-quarters in 1:25 2/5. Publicity Seeker crept out of the pocket at the bottom of the turn to challenge Sonofamistery into the stretch and drew to equal terms as Locatelli came calling three-wide into the eighth pole. Sonofamistery suddenly broke stride coming to the final yards while Locatelli had the momentum and strolled by to beat Publicity Seeker at the line. Warrawee Whisper took third, with Tokyo Seelster and Macho Martini completing the top five.

"We've had some hard luck. It's not really his fault – there's a couple of breaks on his program there, but really wasn't his fault," McCarthy said after the race. "I kind of run him up into a blindswitch in the Hambletonian and kind of got interfered with at Pocono. But he's definitely had enough trot, and I thought he would be good tonight. I wanted to get myself into a spot where I could either move him to the front or be first-over and just have a nice smooth trip. I finally just let him do his thing out there and once I got him straightened up, I got the earplugs out and he marched right on."

Winning his third race from 11 starts this season and his fourth from 20 overall, Locatelli has banked C$163,848 for owners John Fielding, Steve Heimbecker, and Black Horse Racing. Nancy Takter conditions the Muscle Hill gelding who paid $12.20 to win.

By winning their eliminations, Fashion Frenzie and Locatelli have earned the privilege of picking their post positions for the C$240,000 Goodtimes final, one of many stakes events complementing the C$1,000,000 Pepsi North America Cup next Saturday (Sept. 11).

The post positions for the $240,000 Goodtimes are listed below:

1-On A Streak
2-Macho Martini
3-Locatelli
4-Publicity Seeker
5-Fashion Frenzie
6-Dancinginthedark M
7-Tokyo Seelster
8-Logan Park
9-Warrawee Whisper
10-Ritson
AE-Sonofamistery

--press release (Woodbine Mohawk Park)--