Woodbine Mohawk Park: Wolfgang trots to the head of the class in Goodtimes

If there was any doubt who leads the 3-year-old trotting colt division, Wolfgang erased those thoughts with a powerful victory in Saturday’s C$266,000 Goodtimes final at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

After briefly settling for the pocket behind fellow leaver Lawmaker through an opening quarter in 27 3/5, driver Yannick Gingras quickly put Wolfgang on the point with a quick brush approaching the 56 2/5 half. From that point on the race was over according to Gingras.

“He got around the track fine and around the last turn I was loaded with trot. I called on him and pulled the plugs and he was gone,” said Gingras, who guided the Jimmy Takter trainee past three-quarters in 1:24 3/5 and across the wire in a career-best 1:52 1/5.

Longshot Stormont Ventor slipped off the pylons on the final turn and got second ahead of Alarm Detector, who was hurt by an uncovered trip.

“I think he stamped himself as one of the big contenders now,” said Gingras. “I couldn’t be any happier. He’s sound, he’s happy and he trotted the stretch really strong tonight.”

Owned by Brixton Medical Inc, Goran Falk, Hatfield Stables and Fair Island Farm Inc., Wolfgang is perfect in two starts in 2018 and has earned C$464,275 in his career. His next stakes race is likely to be the Stanley Dancer at the Meadowlands on July 14 according to Takter.

“I don’t know yet,” said Takter of his plans. “I don’t think I’m going to go for the Earl Beal. We will most likely race Manchego in that. I have four or five horses racing at Pocono tomorrow night and I have to decide which of those will go. We’ll most likely skip the Earl Beal with him because it is too hard racing four weeks in-a-row and we’ll likely go to the Stanley Dancer.”

With Wolfgang not only on the Hambletonian trail but perhaps the top contender for the trotting classic on the first Saturday in August after his victory, one may wonder about the son of My MVP using the medication Lasix. Horses are not permitted to race on Lasix in the Hambletonian.

“He bled for me in the fall last year and we decided to put him on Lasix. I think his lungs are fine. He’s on the lowest dose we can give him and I don’t think he’s bleeding anymore. I just don’t want to take him off it until the Hambletonian,” said Takter.

Wolfgang paid $4.30 to win as the favorite.