Milton, ON --- The future officially arrived Thursday evening (June 21) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, as a pair of 2-year-old races were contested.
A field of seven rookie trotters met in the evening’s second race, while 10 freshman pacers clashed in the seventh race. Each race went for a purse of $10,640.
Track announcer Ken Middleton won’t forget the first 2-year-old pace of the season, as his student Shadowofthenorth was victorious in 1:56.2. The Shadow Play colt rushed to the lead from third in the second quarter and after reaching three-quarters in 1:28.4, paced home in :27.3 to fight off rivals for a half-length score. See You In Tuscany (We Will See) finished second, while Do Ya Think (Ponder) was third.
Middleton, who is regarded as one of the top announcers in the sport, was sending out his first starter as a trainer on Thursday and kicked off his training career in style. An C$18,000 London Yearling Sale purchase, Shadowofthenorth is owned by Middleton, Jeffrey Seibel and Michael Schaffer.
A $2 win ticket on Shadowofthenorth paid $13.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob McIntosh is certainly no stranger to success with young horses, but the betting public overlooked his trainee Only Take Cash in the 2-year-old trotting event. A daughter of Cash Hall, Only Take Cash came first-up on the far turn and kept on trotting all the way to a 27-1 upset with Bob McClure in the bike.
Royaltys Pearl (Royalty For Life), who cut an opening quarter of :29.1, was slowing things down in the second quarter when Westfiftysecond (My MVP) made a backstretch rush from fifth to lead at the half in 1:00.1. Only Take Cash got away third and was sitting fourth entering the far turn. The McIntosh trainee was brought to the outside and moved first-up to within two lengths of leader Westfiftysecond, who reached the third marker in 1:30.4.
In the stretch, Only Take Cash marched right on by the fading leader and trotted home impressively in :27.4 to win by two lengths in 1:59. Judge Ken (Justice Hall) followed the winner on the far turn to a runner-up finish, while Jumpshot (E L Titan) tracked third-over and trotted into a third-place finish.
Only Take Cash is a homebred for Robert McIntosh Stables Inc., C S X Stables and Dave Boyle. She is the fifth foal from Armbro Affair, who made more than $430,000 in 34 starts.
A $2 win ticket on Only Take Cash paid $56.80.
Live racing continues Friday evening at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Post time is 7:30 p.m.