Shark Gesture, Bettor Sweet get CPD byes

August 28, 2009

There is only a single $50,000(C) elimination this Saturday night for the upcoming $700,000(C) Canadian Pacing Derby that will be raced on Sept. 5 at Mohawk Racetrack, but what a field it is.

Ten of harness racing�s most illustrious older pacers will go head-to-head, including a number who sat out the Aug. 22 Breeders Crown for mature pacers. The field includes a Little Brown Jug winner, Shadow Play; upset Breeders Crown winner Won The West; the 4-year-old Art Official, who holds the distinction of being the only horse ever to defeat Somebeachsomwhere; and the multimillionaire Mister Big, who won this race in 2008.

Also in the mix is the 2007 Gold Cup and Saucer winner, Silent Swing, a 7-year-old, gelded son of Northern Luck who has earned more than $1 million for trainer Jean-Louis Arsenault and owners David Shea and Reg Petitpas. Silent Swing will go into Saturday night�s elimination almost straight off the trailer from a return trip to Charlottetown, P.E.I., where this year he was narrowly defeated by All The Weapons in the 2009 Gold Cup and Saucer, the Maritimes� most prestigious race.

Arsenault says he took the scenic route home quite deliberately.

�We stopped for two days in Moncton, and another day in Montreal, so he could have some time off the trailer and some turn-out,� Arsenault said. �He had a pretty rough ride on the Island from the eight hole; it was like bumper cars. A little down time was good for him.

�Frankly I was hoping we might not have an elimination this year, given the small size of the Breeders Crown field in this division, but since we do, well draw blood on him on Friday, and if he's good, then well race.

�Every horse in the Canadian Pacing Derby elimination deserves serious respect,� Arsenault said. �Especially Shadow Play, if he�s healthy, but every horse in there is impressive.�

Silent Swing will once again have to endure starting from the eight hole this Saturday, but any result in the top eight will advance him to the final, along with two horses who have been awarded a bye based on their 2009 earnings, the 4-year-old Bettor�s Delight gelding Bettor Sweet, and Shark Gesture.

The Canadian Pacing Derby Elimination will be pace eight, and will start at 9:57 p.m., eastern this Saturday on a stakes-studded card, which also includes three eliminations for the $1 million(C) Metro Pace, and four for the $700,000(C) She�s A Great Lady Stakes. (WEG)

« Back