Valedictory Series champion Speaker Of Peace started his pursuit of a second Woodbine Mohawk Park series title on Friday night (Jan. 26), winning the first of three $18,000 opening leg divisions of the Snowshoe Series.
Trainer Bill McClure’s Speaker Of Peace ($2.70) and driver Scott Young kicked off this series, as the 1-5 favourite led from the start and held off the pocket-popping Wry (Doug McNair) by half a length in 1:54.3. Rounding out the top three, 57-1 longshot Kyles Art (James MacDonald) closed from the back with a :26.1 kicker over the ‘good’ track to finish three lengths behind.
A four-year-old gelded son of Artspeak, Speaker Of Peace earned his third (consecutive) win from four starts this year, pushing his career bankroll into six-figure territory. He now has six career wins from 26 starts.
Even-money favourite Shreddar ($4.10) and James MacDonald took command into the first turn and emerged down the stretch from the heavy fog that rolled into the region to take the second division, sprinting a :26.4 final frame to close out another 1:54.3 series mile and hold off High Voltage Deo (Louis-Philippe Roy) from the pocket by a neck. Call Me It (Trevor Henry) followed more than two lengths back in third.
The lightly raced four-year-old Betterthancheddar gelding, who only made half a dozen starts late last year capped off by a four-race win streak, earned his first victory from three tries this season to raise his lifetime bankroll over the $50,000 mark. Trainer Paul Cameron shares ownership of Shreddar with Jayme Cameron and Arnolds Horse Shack.
Making his debut from the Carmen Auciello stable in the third series division, even-money favourite Lets Go Jude ($4.10) swept from fourth to first after watching a contested opening quarter and never looked back en route to a two-length victory in 1:55.1. Early leaders Cabot Beach (James MacDonald) and Bet The BB (Travis Cullen) duked it out for the runner-up honours with the former getting the nod in a photo finish.
Lets Go Jude, who hit the board in the Valedictory Series final late last year, picked up his first win in three seasonal starts. The four-year-old gelded son of JK Endofanera now has five career wins from 33 races lifetime and more than $60,000 in purse earnings. He is owned by Frank Brundle, Glenn MacDonald and Ryan Bender.
The Snowshoe Series is for three and four-year-old male pacers that were non-winners of two races or $30,000 lifetime as of midnight Oct. 31, 2023.
The second leg will take place next Friday, Feb. 2 with the $30,000 added final set for Friday, Feb. 9.
(Standardbred Canada)
