No surprises in Metro elims

There were few surprises in the eliminations for the upcoming C$1 million Metro Pace Saturday night (Aug. 29) at Mohawk, as the three favorites lived up to their billing.

Sportswriter (Mark MacDonald) emerged triumphant from a duel with 6-5 favorite, Delmarvalous (Corey Callahan), in the first of the three $40,000 eliminations, going on to win by 1-1/2 lengths in a sharp 1:51.

Delmarvalous was first off the gate from the far inside, leading Rock Me Please (Steve Condren) and Foreign Officer (Tim Tetrick) through a blistering 25.3 first panel before throttling back to stroll through the second quarter in 30 seconds. The order remained unchanged until the five-eighths pole, when MacDonald put Sportswriter in motion. The pair applied pressure to Delmarvalous through the far turn and the latter colt eventually yielded, giving Sportswriter his fourth straight career victory.

Beignet, a 21-1 longshot, was third for Dave Miller, and Rock Me Please finished fourth.

Casie Coleman trains Sportswriter, a 2-year-old son of Artsplace-Precious Beauty, for Steve Calhoun and the West Wins Stable. His earnings now stand at $105,196.

“I kinda wanted to get away one spot back, but you have to take what you can get from the nine hole,” explained MacDonald.

“He’s a good colt (Delmarvalous) but I was very confident in my horse. I’ve never really had to ask him too much, but tonight was different – I was first-over from the three-eighths right to the wire. I wasn’t sure how he’d handle it, but he was just awesome. As soon as I called on him he just sprinted by.

“I really do think he has the capability to go faster. He just does it so easy. He’s such a nice horse; he’s a privilege to drive.”

Paul MacDonell sent the son of Bettors Delight-Silky to the lead from the one-hole, and the pair stepped through fractions of 26.3, 55.2, and 1:24.2 with World of Rocknroll (Andy Miller) pocket-sitting and OK Commander (Doug McNair) riding along in third. Rock N Roll Heaven (Dan Dube) came after the 6-5 favorite in the lane, but Malicious held him off to win in 1:52.1. Rock N Roll Heaven crossed the wire 1-1/4 lengths in arrears, and World Of Rocknroll grabbed the show spot.

Dr. Ian Moore trains and co-owns Malicious, with hockey superstar Serge Savard and the R G Mcgroup Ltd of Bathurst, New Brunswick. The near-black colt can now boast a bankroll of $144,996.

Remarked MacDonell: “He got down there pretty quick - :26.3 – and established command pretty quickly, so I just wanted to give him a breather after that. He does relax pretty nicely on the front end and then he responds in the lane. If they can do those things at this early age, it makes my job easier.”

In the third and final elimination, Tim Tetrick stalked the leaders and then pounced with 4-5 favorite, Woodstock, who came three-wide from the seven hole to win in 1:53.2.

Paynes Landing and John Campbell led the field through fractions of 27.4, 57.2, and 1:25.1 with Western Thorn (Mark MacDonald) helmet-riding and Piece Of The Rock (Roger Mayotte) riding along in third. As Paynes Landing began to flag in mid-stretch, Woodstock came on strong from the middle of the track while Western Thorn found an opening on the inside to shoot through.

Woodstock crossed the wire 1-3/4 lengths to the good, with Western Thorn second and Epanephrine (Steve Condren) moving up for third. Paynes Landing faded to sixth.

A $100,000 yearling purchase, Woodstock is a son of Rocknroll Hanover, out of the Abercrombie mare, Gothic Lady. He is trained by Mike Vanderkemp for Brittany Farms, Adam Victor and Son Stable, Mel Hartman, and the Island View Partners. This was his third straight victory in as many starts.

“I thought it was a really good effort,” said Tetrick. “He made up a lot of ground and went right by them.

“He’s definitely on his way up,” he added. “He’s got a lot of room for improvement yet. The first couple of times I qualified him, I was way back and he made up a lot of ground really quickly, so he’s got a lot of talent and a lot of high speed and he’s got places to go, I think.

The top three finishers, plus one fourth-place finisher to be drawn by lot, will advance to the C$1,000,000 Metro Pace final, for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings, on Sept. 5 at Mohawk. Tonight’s elimination winners have the privilege of choosing their post positions for the final.

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