Sophomore division heats up with trot classic

This Saturday, Sept. 14, the glamour boy trotters converge in their first major tango of the fall racing season, the $686,000 Canadian Trotting Classic (CTC)  at Mohawk Racetrack.  

Headlining the race into the eliminations was Hambletonian-winner Royalty For Life, who had triumphed over his fellow sophomore trotters in the past few stakes events after the August classic. The competition within the glamour boy division became enticing once Your So Vain trotted his way by Royalty For Life in an effortless 7-length recovery in a CTC elim.  

To add onto the competitive nature in the CTC, a new glamour boy arrived to the trail. With an impressive first over bid to victory, Master Of Law was stamped as a favorite. The colt from the Frank Antonacci stable appeared onto the sophomore-trotting scene by winning the final of the Kentucky Sires Stakes at The Red Mile. Due to the impressive nature of his victory, driver Scott Zeron chose him over other elimination winner Your So Vain.  

The CTC has two potential value contenders, both coming from the same elimination. Punxsutawney and Wheeling N Dealin have been rounding themselves back to their champion form in recent weeks. 

Punxsutawney has gotten his stride together, with a foot issue as the culprit for his breaking. Since his score in the Colonial Consolation, he has been consistently hitting the board and showing a love for competition. His furious bid in his elimination can define his competitiveness, flying out of the pocket once he had room to just get nosed by Master Of Law at the wire. Punxsutawney draws well heading into the final and will be a major player towards the final quarter.

Wheeling N Dealin has not lived up to his standards he set as a freshman. He was expected to continue to be the champion he was at two but instead took some time to get himself together. It was with the addition of Lasix last week in the elimination that he showed one of his best efforts this year, tracking the cover of Master Of Law from the half-mile and coming into the stretch appearing slightly live. Wheeling N Dealin would be a better play in the exotics versus his value counterpart, who will be up for the top honors.

Follow major BC hopefuls on their road to the October Breeders Crown at Pocono Downs at the Breeders Crown Countdown blog and the TwinSpires harness blog weekly, with archived reports on the results at the Hambletonian Society web site.