Woodbine Mohawk Park: Tetrick hopes to have many options for NA Cup card

The North America Cup drew 17 horses with two C$50,000 eliminations slated for Saturday's Woodbine Mohawk Park program. Driver Tim Tetrick goes north of the border in search of his third North America Cup victory and has a shot to qualify a pair for the final.

Mad Max Hanover, a son of Always B Miki, closed out his 2-year-old season with a solid second-place finish in the Governor's Cup. He's returned to form in a big way this year and Tetrick will steer him from post two in the first elimination division (race four).

"I just drove him once last year," said Tetrick of the Jake Leamon trainee. "He was a big, gangly horse and was 50-1 and got a little rough on me at the start." Tetrick recalled the Governor's Cup where Mad Max Hanover recovered from a poor start to be flying at the finish.

"I think he's a big contender," said Tetrick. "He went a big trip last time and just got nipped in a [1]:48 [4/5] cutting the pace."

Mad Max Hanover was caught by Night Hawk, a winner in three of his four starts this year who he'll meet again on Saturday night. Night Hawk (post six) has five wins in six lifetime starts for trainer Brian Brown.

Other contenders in the first Cup division have to be Somebeachsomewhere winner Pebble Beach (post four) and world champion Caviart Camden, a 1:48 3/5 winner last year at The Red Mile that has returned sharp for trainer Tony Alagna with consecutive wins at Harrah's Philadelphia. Caviart Camden landed post three.

Tetrick is expecting a top performance from I Did It Myway (post six) in the second North America Cup trial carded as race eight.

"Tony [Alagna] does a great job getting these horses ready to go," said Tetrick, paying homage to the colt's trainer. "I'm happy these two didn't draw in with one another."

I Did It Myway, a son of Captaintreacherous, a horse Tetrick guided to victory in the 2013 North America Cup, prepped nicely with a 1:50 2/5 score on May 29 at Harrah's Philadelphia.

Last year's Governor's Cup winner Early Action will make his first start as a sophomore in this division for trainer Joe Holloway. Early Action landed post five with Brian Sears in the bike.

Beach Glass, a highly-regarded son of Somebeachsomewhere, drew post eight in the field and picks up Yannick Gingras in the bike with Paul MacDonell ceding the drive following last week's second-place finish in stakes action. Beach Glass has won half of his six lifetime starts for trainer Brent MacGrath of Somebeachsomewhere fame.

A pair of Ontario-sired horses add depth to the second division, with Somebeachsomewhere upsetter Magical Arthur (post three) hoping to build on his 1:50 3/5 career-best performance a week earlier. Ron (post four), a son of Sportswriter, qualified in 1:52 2/5 on June 3 in his final tune-up.

Trainer Tim Twaddle returns to Ontario with a serious contender in Fourever Boy. A victor just once as a 2-year-old, Fourever Boy was a game winner in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action at Pocono on May 30 in a career-best 1:51 1/5 clocking. Fourever Boy drew the pole.

The top five horses in each North America Cup elimination qualify for the C$1 million final on June 18.

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Tetrick is hopeful he'll have some others to drive on June 18, with Saturday's Woodbine Mohawk program hosting two eliminations for the Fan Hanover, as well as two for the Roses Are Red. Tetrick is well situated with Treacherous Dragon (post four) in the first of the two C$35,000 Fan Hanover eliminations carded as race two.

"She's been great," Tetrick said of Treacherous Dragon. "She was great last year but had to run into Niki Hill."

With Niki Hill absent from the Fan Hanover, Treacherous Dragon is the likely choice in this division, but she'll have serious company with the top Ontario-sired filly Prohibition Legal (post five), Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner Boudoir Hanover (post six) and Ohio star Sea Silk (post seven) to her outside in the stacked field.

Tetrick drives Lyons Serenity (post four) in the second division (race three) and said he liked her in the qualifier a bit more than in her first start on May 29. "She might be a step below these," Tetrick said.

Lyons Serenity's stablemate Lyons Sentinel is clearly not a step below. The 5-year-old daughter of Captaintreacherous had a solid campaign for trainer Jim King Jr. in 2021, picking up her second Dan Patch award in the process.

"She went a big mile at the Meadowlands last week," said Tetrick, about the mare who will start in race seven. "I think she needs one more race to get back to the kind of level she raced at all last year."

Lyons Sentinel drew post five in the second C$35,000 Roses Are Red elimination.

Test Of Faith, the 2021 Horse of the Year, drew the pole position in the first Roses Are Red division (race six).

Woodbine Mohawk Park's 11-race Saturday night program starts at 7:00 p.m. EDT.