Woodbine Mohawk Park: Lexus Kody blitzes foes in Maple Leaf Trot final

Lexus Kody and driver Yannick Gingras put in a powerful two-move performance to get control and dominate his rivals in capturing Saturday's Grade 1 C$630,000 Maple Leaf Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park in a sizzling track and stakes record 1:49 1/5 mile. Bred in Ontario and a son of Archangel, Lexus Kody easily held off last year's champion and odds-on favorite Periculum down the stretch in the biggest win of his storied career.

Gingras left alertly from mid-pack with Lexus Kody but was out-sprinted to the turn by Hillexotic, a former stablemate of the Ron Burke trainee. Once the field passed the opening panel in 26 4/5, Gingras put Lexus Kody on the move from the two-hole and gained control well before the 54 3/5 first-half was completed.

Second choice and the first horse in Canadian history to trot a sub-1;50 mile Aetos Kronos S moved without cover at that point and behind him in striking position was Periculum with Scott Zeron. Lexus Kody still had a length advantage through three-quarters in 1:22 1/5. Gingras called on the 7-year-old down the stretch, and he sprinted hard with a 27 second final quarter to complete the record mile. Periculum chased the winner and was clearly second-best, while Hillexotic held third.Call Me Goo and Southwind Coors rounded out the top five finishers.

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Owned by Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi and Phil Collura, Lexus Kody gave driver Gingras and trainer Burke their third Maple Leaf Trot titles with the fastest mile in the race's long history. As a 5-1 offering Lexus Kody returned $13.30 to win.

"It's a pleasure to win this race," said Gingras on the way back to the winner's circle. "I was happy to cut it and put the race in our hands."