Woodbine Mohawk Park: McIntosh takes aim at stacked North America Cup eliminations

Hall of Fame trainer Bob McIntosh wasn't discouraged when Moment Is Here finished second in one of last week's (June 3) Somebeachsomewhere divisions at Woodbine Mohawk Park. He was encouraged by his sophomore's performance, so much so that he put the son of All Bets Off in with 32 others on Tuesday morning in the C$1 million Pepsi North America Cup trials.

Four C$50,000 eliminations were necessary, with only the top two in each guaranteed a spot in the lucrative final, with two third-place finishers chosen by lot to determine the field of 10 set to compete on June 17.

"That was a pretty tough first quarter," McIntosh said. "To me, the best part was that he was still fighting to the end."

Moment Is Here was pushed three-wide and parked to a brisk 25 3/5 opening quarter in his Somebeachsomewhere division and eventually relinquished command to last year's division champion Stockade Seelster in a slowed-down second quarter. Still, Moment Is Here, a homebred, refused to quit in the stretch and was only a length off the winner. In five trips to post this year, Moment Is Here has been on the board in each and owns a 1:49 mark taken in a Woodbine Mohawk Park overnight.

"I'd say his attitude is his best asset," McIntosh said of the determined horse, who some say looks a lot like his first-year sire All Bets Off. "Last year he made over $200,000, but he had to deal with a lot of aches and pains. This year has been different. I think he's outgrown some of that, and we haven't had to do much vet work at all."

What gives McIntosh confidence in his horse is that he can take a licking and keep on ticking, and that may be necessary on Saturday night as he's drawn post seven in the first (race three) elimination with leading driver James MacDonald in the bike.

For McIntosh a win in the North America Cup would be unreal at this stage of his career. Asked to compare Moment Is Here to his 2012 North America Cup champion Thinking Out Loud, McIntosh said: "They're both homebreds."

Actually, McIntosh sent out the first- and third-place finishers in the 2012 edition and both were homebreds. Another similarity between Thinking Out Loud and Moment Is Here is that both finished second in the Somebeachsomewhere prior to entering the North America Cup trials.

For Moment Is Here to emulate Thinking Out Loud's accomplishments in June of 2012, he's going to have to overcome a quality field of horses that have primarily raced in the States prepping for this race.

New Jersey Sire Stakes champion Voukefalas is unbeaten in three starts this year and has looked effortless in those wins, including a 1:49 4/5 victory in the $240,000 NJSS final on May 27 at the Meadowlands. Jordan Stratton will drive the son of Lazurus from post four.

Also shipping in from New Jersey is the well-bred Christchurch, with trainer Nancy Takter looking for her third North America Cup winner in five years, having captured the 2019 and 2020 editions with Captain Crunch and Tall Dark Stranger, respectively. Christchurch drew post one.

Ohio-sired horses have been competitive on the Grand Circuit for many years, and Racing Rampage (post eight) could be the latest one to arrive in Ontario with a chance at stardom. Racing Rampage is a son of Racing Hill with a solid résumé, having won five of eight starts as a freshman worth $227,797 in earnings.

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Perhaps the toughest of the four divisions is race five with nine horses going behind the gate, including last year's Breeders Crown winner Ammo (post five), who returns to the scene of his greatest triumph for trainer Joe Holloway. Ammo won his first two starts of the year and then finished second on May 28 in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action behind It's My Show. David Miller has the driving assignment behind Ammo.

Two Somebeachsomewhere division-winners join this stacked group, with Annapolis Hanover (post two) and Redwood Hanover (post nine) giving first-year sire Stay Hungry a pair of solid chances to reach the final. Annapolis Hanover made a winning debut in his first start away from Pennsylvania for trainer-owner Mitchell York with a career-best 1:49 3/5 mile in the Somebeachsomewhere.

Redwood Hanover had been impressive racing from well off-the-pace prior to the Somebeachsomewhere, but the Anthony Beaton-trained colt showed instant acceleration at the start and even more power in the stretch as he out-sprinted Fulton to score in 1:49. Now a winner in four of his five starts this year, Redwood Hanover will have to overcome the outside post to advance.

Last year's Governor's Cup one-two finishers add a great deal of class to this division, with El Rey (post eight) and Combustion (post three) both looking for their first stakes wins as sophomores. El Rey needs to rebound from a fifth-place finish in the Somebeachsomewhere. Combustion had three qualifiers before making his seasonal debut last Saturday (June 3), winning in 1:51 1/5 for trainer Brett Pelling.

Another solid horse in this division is Fulton. Last year's Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion has captured two Sire Stakes divisions this year and was a solid runner-up to Redwood Hanover in the Somebeachsomewhere after going a long way without cover in the final half. Fulton (post six) hails from the Linda Toscano stable.

Toscano's top sophomore to date is likely the unbeaten It's My Show (post one, race seven), a son of Sweet Lou (a 2012 North America Cup finalist) and out of the $2.4 million winner Put On A Show. It's My Show has won all four of his starts this year with a combination of high sprinting speed and determination. Scott Zeron hopes to keep his winning streak alive behind It's My Show, who most recently scored in 1:49 1/5 in a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes race at Harrah's Philadephia on May 28.

Last year's Metro champion Stockade Seelster regained winning form in the Somebeachsomewhere for trainer Dr. Ian Moore and driver Jody Jamieson. A son of State Treasurer (a 2012 North America Cup finalist), Stockade Seelster won eight of his 11 starts as a freshman.

Trainer Brian Brown has an improving son of Stay Hungry in Seven Colors (post six) that appears to be peaking at the right time. A 1:48 1/5 winner in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action on May 28, Seven Colors drew post six with Tim Tetrick in the bike.

Save America showed incredibly high speed for the first time as a sophomore, winning in 1:48 1/5 for trainer Nancy Takter in Pennsylvania Stallion Series competition on May 28 at Harrah's Philadelphia. The recently-gelded son of Captaintreacherous earned $440K as a freshman and will be looking to reach the rich final from post three.

Breeders Crown runner-up Confederate returns to Woodbine Mohawk Park on a mission for trainer Brett Pelling. The son of Sweet Lou defeated some quality aged performers with a breathtaking burst of speed in his lone sophomore start on May 27 at the Meadowlands. Considered one of the better freshmen in 2022 with five wins in seven starts, Confederate makes his sophomore stakes debut in the final Cup elimination carded as race nine.

Nancy Takter has Ants Marching (post four) primed for the North America Cup in that division. Yannick Gingras drove the son of Downbytheseaside to an impressive third-place finish after racing without cover into a blistering final half in the Somebeachsomewhere.

Lyons Surfing (post three) has been competitive on the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes circuit and ships north for trainer Jim King Jr., who captured the North America Cup in 2015 with Wakizashi Hanover. Lyons Surfing is one of nine horses sired by Stay Hungry entered in the North America Cup trials.

Last year's Kindergarten Series champion Loubet has yet to win in two starts as a sophomore, but leading trainer Ron Burke entered him, along with three others from his stable for the North America Cup. Loubet, a son of Sweet Lou, drew post six in the final stanza.

The North America Cup eliminations are part of a strong 11-race card at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday that also includes eliminations for the Armbro Flight and an Open featuring Allywag Hanover.