Woodbine Mohawk Park: Plenty of star power in Saturday Preferred

Stakes season at Woodbine Mohawk Park is just around the corner and racing fans will get an opportunity to whet their appetite with this Saturday’s edition of the $34,000 Preferred Pace.

Millionaire pacer Sintra (PP5, Jody Jamieson) increased his current win streak to six with an impressive 1:50 1/5 score in last week’s Preferred, his first start since late-February. The 6-year-old gelding has been rolling in the Preferred this season, but with a new month comes new challengers.

Stars Jimmy Freight, last year’s O’Brien Award winner, and Dr J Hanover, the fastest Standardbred in Canadian racing history, join Sintra and four other rivals to make up this week’s edition of the Preferred.

Richard Moreau trainee Jimmy Freight (PP1, Louis Philippe Roy) will be making his 4-year-old debut in Saturday’s contest and comes in off a sharp 1:52 4/5 qualifying effort last Thursday. The Ontario Sires Stakes champion is prepping for next weekend’s Confederation Cup eliminations.

Jimmy Freight is no stranger to facing older company, having faced aged competitors on multiple occasions last season. The son of Sportswriter grabbed headlines with a third-place effort in last year’s Mohawk Gold Cup, which was part of an incredible season that saw him win 11 of 21 starts and earn $834,489 for owner Adriano Sorella.

Dr J Hanover (PP2, Doug McNair) comes to town after battling in the Levy Series at Yonkers Raceway. The Tony Alagna trainee most recently captured a $50,000 Levy Eligible contest on April 20 for his first win in seven starts this season.

Now 6 years old, Dr J Hanover scored six wins and made $227,980 in 23 starts last season, which included appearances in the Canadian Pacing Derby and TVG Open. He races for owners Brad Grant, Robert LeBlanc, Steven Wienick and ISFT.

Saturday’s Preferred also includes recent winners Traceur Hanover (PP3, Chris Christoforou) and Physicallyinclined (PP7, Jonathan Drury). The field is rounded out by Go West Go Fast (PP4, Sylvain Filion) and P L Jackson (Travis Cullen).

The Preferred is carded as Race 6 on Saturday’s 11-race card. Post time is 7:10 p.m.

-edited release (Woodbine)