Casual Breeze splits at Mohawk

Favourite Amy Kane tasted defeat for the first time in her career tonight when she broke stride and gave 14-1 shot, Global Glamour, a wide-open stretch of track in which to capture the first of four $75,000 divisions of the Casual Breeze Stakes for three-year-old trotting fillies Friday evening at Mohawk Racetrack.

Mario Baillargeon sent the unbeaten Amy Kane straight to the front from post #7, with Trevor Ritchie tucking the roan filly, Global Glamour, in behind as they covered a first quarter in :28.0. As the lasses passed the half in :58.2, Amy Kane was challenged on the outside by Baileysirishdream, and as they moved into the stretch, the pair looked each other in the eye and simultaneously rolled off-stride, with Amy Kane veering to the inside and Rick Zeron steering Baileysirishdream wide to the outside.

Global Glamour was virtually handed her victory gift-wrapped at that point, with Bella Dolce stepping up for second by a neck, and Delphic capturing third.

The winning time of 1:56.2 was a new lifetime best for the filly.

Feels Like Magic was scratched (sick) from this contest, with Witty Girl also taking herself out of the action by breaking at the gate.

Global Glamour, a daughter of Like A Prayer out of the roan Speedy Crown mare, Tourism, is trained by Peter Foley and owned by Lynne Foley and James McLaughlin of Kentucky.

“We got lucky tonight with a couple of breakers,” said Foley. “She shipped up the day before yesterday and she didn’t eat or drink too well. We put some fluids in her yesterday and she actually looked a little dull, but she showed her class (tonight).”

Global Glamour will be aimed for the Elegantimage eliminations next week.

In the second Casual Breeze division, 1-5 favourite Poster Pin Up overcame a lost shoe and stepped up to win by two lengths for trainer/driver Trond Smedshammer, in 1:57.0.

35-1 shot, Kadealia, took command early under the urging of Jack Moiseyev, with Yalta Hanover and Jean-Pierre Dubois tucking into the pocket behind her. The fillies went a first quarter in :28.4, but at the half-mile point Smedshammer sent Poster Pin Up after Kadealia and cleared to the front in :59.2. With Glide Sally Glide, and then Yalta Hanover, going off-stride early in the stretch, followed by Whatta Hotty, there was no-one left to catch Poster Pin Up, though World Premiere and Trevor Ritchie reached up to grab second and Kadealia held on to be a game third.

Said Smedshammer, “She showed us she had the ability (last year) – we didn’t really race her a lot, just raced her a couple times around Pennsylvania and then waited for the Red Mile meet. She raced good (in) both those Grand Circuit races there in Lexington.

“She’s pretty good-mannered, but we had a little anxious moment there – she’s got a big gait and she doesn’t really handle changing gears like I want her to. I almost lost her at the quarter pole (when) she pulled a shoe off. I was kind of nursing her around there minus one shoe!”

Poster Pin Up, a daughter of Andover Hall out of the Pine Chip mare, Poster Princess, made just six starts, with two wins and two seconds, in her freshman year. This was her sophomore debut, off a pair of qualifiers at the Meadowlands earlier this month. The win will push her earnings over the $100,000 mark for owners Theodore Gewertz, Martha Frank, Robert Feldman, and the Rojan Stables. Like Global Glamour, she’ll be staying in Ontario to challenge the Elegantimage eliminations on June 6.

Lantern Kronos ran her season’s unbeaten streak to four while Hawaiianphotograph posted an upset in Friday’s last pair of $75,000 Casual Breeze divisions for three-year-old filly trotters at Mohawk Racetrack.

In the second to last split, Paul MacDonell floated Lantern Kronos to the lead from the outside post eight through a :28.1 first quarter. From there, the strapping daughter of Viking Kronos was never seriously threatened and cruised to a 1:56.4 victory over Saqqara Dream and Somebody To Love.

“This filly was born in Europe, so she was a little underdeveloped when she came over here,” said winning trainer Jimmy Takter. “She was immature mentally and physically but we got a good foundation under her this winter with the mild weather.

“It’s hard to compare her to fillies like Pampered Princess or Passionate Glide at this point. This is an unknown filly and you never know how they will develop.”

Friday’s win was the fourth straight this season for Lantern Kronos who went one for six as a freshman. The lion’s share of the purse boosted her earnings to just over $90,000 for Falkbolagen Ab 212 25 of Malmo, Sweden.

One of the biggest upsets of the night in the Casual Breeze came in the final division when Hawaiaanphotograph recovered from a slow start to sweep past rivals late for Mike Saftic in 1:57.1 at odds of 8-1. The daughter of Sjs Photo turned back Locksweeper and Saorse for her second win in three tries this season.

The filly, who had won a Pennsylvania Sires Stakes event in her first outing of the year at The Meadows, increased her earnings to just over $97,000 for trainer William Zendt and owners Shanamphilaniklou Inc. Of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Both fillies are eligible to the Elegantimage Stakes with eliminations scheduled for Friday, June 6 at Mohawk. (WEG)

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