By now it's no secret that trainer Andrew Harris and his ownership connection are in the market for the best horses - no matter whether they are at yearling sales or during the stakes season. For those deals to pay dividends, the horses must show up in the sport's biggest events. This Saturday Harris has four sophomore pacers in action in elimination races for the prestigious North America Cup and Fan Hanover stakes. Brandon Blvd, a $425,000 yearling purchase, has already proven his value as a freshman, and a victory in the C$1 million North America Cup final will go a long way towards establishing credentials as a future stallion. Harris has three pacing fillies, one in each of the C$35,000 Fan Hanover preliminaries on Saturday. Both Topville Lucky and Gala, the one-two finishers in last year's $400,000 Kentucky Championship Series final for 2-year-old female pacers, were both mid-year purchases. The $550,000 yearling Naughty Beauty is a daughter of Bettor's Delight that is bred very much like the 2020 North America Cup champion Tall Dark Stranger. Brandon Blvd was a seven-time winner as a freshman, finishing second on two occasions during a 10-race campaign. His only off-the-board appearance came in last year's Breeders Crown over the same Woodbine Mohawk surface he'll be navigating on Saturday. "He came back sick from that race," said Harris when asked about the sub-par performance. Coincidently, the timing of that illness and performance came during the coronation of Beau Jangles. The son of Cattlewash was a dominant presence in the Crown, finishing his season unbeaten and named Horse of the Year both in Canada and the United States. For Harris and the rest of the harness racing world, Saturday's first match-up of sophomores between Beau Jangles and Brandon Blvd in the ninth race and second C$50,000 elimination will be a test to see how close both are more than seven months since they last met. Brandon Blvd will be making his third start of the year and according to Harris he's right on schedule. "This is what we mapped out for him before the season," said Harris of the schedule that saw Brandon Blvd capture the Paul Revere at Plainridge Park on May 2 and then return last Saturday (May 30) to capture the Somebeachsomewhere in a career-best 1:48 1/5 clocking." The Somebeachsomewhere saw Brandon Blvd pace home without much encouragement from Jason Bartlett in 26 3/5, looking very much within himself. "He's much bigger this year," said Harris. "We let out the hopples to 63 inches." Bartlett was subbing for regular pilot Dexter Dunn, who was on assignment in Sweden. The connections of once-beaten Odds On Mr Mamba, an Indiana-bred that set a world record 1:47 4/5 as a freshman, also listed Dunn to drive in this division. "Dexter (Dunn) is driving," Harris confirmed. Brandon Blvd will start outside of Beau Jangles behind the starting gate from post eight, with Odds On Mr Mamba landing post four. Governor's Cup winner Gentleman's Club (post one) and Breeders Crown third-place finisher Melillo (post three), as well as the sub-1:50 performer Ubrute (post five), make up what is clearly the tougher of the two elimination races. Of the eight horses entered in the first North America Cup elimination (race seven) race, only two have been victorious in 2026, with Azrael Blue Chip the lone stakes winner as a sophomore in the octet. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Harris sounded enthusiastic about Topville Lucky, a daughter of Sweet Lou that will be making just her second start of the year in the second race and first C$35,000 Fan Hanover elimination heat. "She had a virus and bled a little bit in her first race," said Harris of the sixth-place finish by Topville Lucky in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes on May 1 at Harrah's Philadelphia. "We put her on Lasix and she was super qualifying."  Topville Lucky prepped for the Fan Hanover with a solid 1:51 mile on May 22 at the Meadowlands, storming home in 26 flat for regular pilot Dexter Dunn. A winner in six of seven starts as a freshman, Topville Lucky faces six rivals with significantly less top-level stakes appearances. Gala (post two) was a five-time winner in seven starts as a freshman. The daughter of Downbytheseaside impressed in her season's debut, winning in 1:51 at Pocono on May 18. A world champion over a five-eighths-mile track in 2025, Gala tests the big track in Saturday's fourth race. "She's really at her best over the smaller tracks," said Harris. "She's very quick on the turns." Whether Gala can step up or not remains to be seen. She'll need to be at her best against a field of seven that includes the unbeaten New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Be Perfect BG, who brings an eight-race win streak to the Fan Hanover. Be Perfect BG landed post six. This division also includes Easy Station (post one), a daughter of Captaintreacherous with three wins in as many starts this year, as well as Shacarri (post seven), a half-sister to Louprint, the 2025 North America Cup winner. Naughty Beauty has yet to hit the board in two tries this year and could be in a bit deep in her sixth race and final Fan Hanover elimination. "She got into some traffic last time," said Harris of the fifth-place finish in an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division on May 23. Traffic may not be a problem this week in what shapes up as the toughest of the three Fan Hanover divisions, with Breeders Crown champion Loua Dipa (post five) and the nine-time winner in 10 starts, A Clean Deal (post five), the major divisional powers. A Clean Deal has been flawless in three Ontario-sired events this spring. A 1:50 winner as a 2-year-old, A Clean Deal has come back just as strong this year. Loua Dipa put in a big effort in a second-place finish on debut this year for trainer Ron Burke on May 1 in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. The homebred by Sweet Lou prepped for this event on May 20 with a 1:54 qualifying mile over a sloppy track at The Meadows. The 13-race Woodbine Mohawk Park card for Saturday gets underway at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) and also includes two eliminations for the Roses Are Red where former Horse of the Year Twin B Joe Fresh makes her return from a 2025 late-season injury.