Woodbine Mohawk Park: Stoebe, Bax take aim at spots in Breeders Crown finals

There are many questions and only a few will be answered when 2-year-olds take the stage this Friday in multiple Breeders Crown elimination races. Perhaps at no other time in the sport's history have so many horses found fame and fortune racing strictly in one jurisdiction. The results bring champions from far and wide, with Woodbine Mohawk Park the destination to find out just how well they will match up when confronted by new competition.

If there's a home court advantage for the Ontario-based conditioners, trainer Matt Bax, who sends out a pair of freshmen trotting fillies in two Crown trials, doesn't think it's that great. "I guess the fact that we're five minutes away from the track and don't have to ship our horses," said Bax when queried on the subject. "Everyone knows it's a hard track and prepares for it."

What's difficult to gauge, especially for young horses, is how to compare mile times from different racetracks to assess realistically whether horses will be competitive. For Bax, the justification came easily when he raced Storybook Love, a second-place finisher in the Big Apple Trot final at Vernon Downs this past Saturday (October 11).

"I thought my filly raced very well against Melander's (Nezuko Kamado S), and she trotted in 1:52 and change at Hoosier," said Bax, alluding to the comparative time quandary. "I think a 1:54 and change mile up here is similar to a 1:52 and change mile at The Red Mile."

Given the numbers, Bax has confidence in his pair of fillies based on their early season performances but more than that how they are entering the Crown.

"They are both coming in off solid miles," Bax said. "One Belle has had some issues tying up that we've had to deal with but went a solid mile beating Carl Jamieson's colt."

One Belle's 1:54 1/5 victory over a male rival on October 9 was the perfect prep race on what was a bit of a cool night.

One Belle is a Walner-sired filly from the Muscle Hill-sired mare Ms Savannah Belle, herself a Breeders Crown elimination winner as a 2-year-old in 2019 over this track. One Belle has won four of her six career starts. She drew post seven in Friday's eighth race and needs a top four finish to guarantee a spot in the final.

The field is deep, with Nezuko Kamado S (post one) the likely favorite, looking for her fourth consecutive stakes win. Bax's original driver choice James MacDonald opted for Red Mile Grand Circuit winner Jailbird Jog (post two), leaving the trainer to seek a substitute. "Todd McCarthy will drive (One Belle) but she's pretty easy to handle," said Bax.

This field also includes Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final winner Bingo Night (post five), a daughter of Green Manalishi S that overcame post 10 to capture that contest over this surface on October 10, and Denarius (post nine), who has won three of four starts this year, including a Champlain division here on September 12 for trainer Domenico Cecere.

The first Breeders Crown elimination for filly trotters (race six) finds Storybook Love (post two) in a solid position. The daughter of Chapter Seven has continued to improve as the season has progressed while racing on the New York Sire Stakes circuit, as well as Grand Circuit events at Woodbine Mohawk Park. A winner in her Big Apple elimination in a career-best 1:54 4/5 clocking at Vernon Downs on October 4, Storybook Love followed that performance up with a strong placing in the final.

On Friday she'll have to contend with another from the powerful Marcus Melander stable, with the Ohio Sire Stakes final champion Setyoursightshigh (post four) in quest of her eighth win of the season. The field also contains back-to-back Red Mile Grand Circuit winner Southwind Chaska (post three), who has captured six of her eight career starts for trainer Jim Oscarsson.

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Trainer Annie Stoebe is very much looking forward to one of the two Breeders Crown eliminations Friday night for 2-year-old trotting colts and geldings. The primary reason for that is the return to Woodbine Mohawk Park of Diabolic Hill, making his first competitive start since a fourth-place finish starting from post nine in the Mohawk Million.

"I'm excited. He's finally going to have a good post to start from," said Stoebe of the Muscle Hill-sired colt that drew post five in Friday's fourth race.

"He was giant in the Mohawk Million," said Stoebe. "He was parked two- and three-wide and then charged home the fastest last quarter of the group."

Diabolic Hill survived an extra-wide trip and still finished his mile with a 26 3/5 final quarter, closing in but coming up short of race-winner Apex.

Stoebe went back to steel shoes from aluminum prior to a 1:56 1/5 qualifying win at the Meadowlands, and that's the way Diabolic Hill will race on Friday night.

Endurance, the runner-up in the Mohawk Million, only his second defeat of the year in eight starts, looks to get back on the winning track in this division. The colt from the first crop of Captain Corey drew the pole position for trainer Chris Beaver and should be favored.

The first Breeders Crown trial for juvenile colt and gelding trotters will be Woodbine Mohawk Park's second race of the evening, pitting recent Big Apple Trot champion Spencer Hanover (post two) against Mr Big Spender (post six), a recent 1:51 2/5 winner at The Red Mile in a division of the Bluegrass.

Spencer Hanover was a winner for the first time in 10 starts but picked the right time to break his maiden for trainer Marcus Melander, capturing the $250,000 Big Apple Trot in a sparkling 1:52 3/5 mile.

Mr Big Spender had a tough draw in the Peter Haughton at Hoosier Park on September 12 and finished third behind Apex (who earned a bye to the final of the Breeders Crown). Mr Big Spender, another by Captain Corey, rebounded from post eight at The Red Mile on September 25, getting used quite hard to get the front and then battling back late for a career-best mile. Mike Wilder drives for trainer Norm Parker.

Stoebe has entered two others in the Crown, with Pink Chou Chou, a Chapter Seven-sired filly, going in the second of two eliminations for 3-year-old filly trotters on Saturday night.

"She's coming off an injury and we give her a long prep," said Stoebe of the filly that has only raced three times this year. "She trotted in (1:)55 and change in her qualifier and I think she'll drop a drew seconds and hopefully be perfect for the final."

Pink Chou Chou is a half-sister to the $3.1 million winner Manchego.

Elista Hanover has had to deal with some poor post positions and difficult racing luck since her powerful performance in the Hambletonian Maturity at the Meadowlands in July. The 4-year-old mare most recently finished third from post eight in the Dayton Distaff on September 27.

"I was hoping to get a race for her, but they didn't fill, so we'll qualify her on Friday here (Woodbine Mohawk Park)," said Stoebe.

Post time for the two cards of Breeders Crown eliminations on Friday and Saturday is 6:35 P.M. (EDT).