Horses owned by Delaware horsemen came up big on the major weekend events in harness racing,nationwide.
Unbeaten Wiggle It Jiggleit won his $50,000 Pepsi North American Cup elimination with a powerful 6-lenth victory clocked in 1:49.2 at Mohawk Raceway in Ontario.
Owned by George Teague Inc. Of Harrington, Del., the 3-year-old gelding driven by Montrell Teague, blew away seven foes in the first of three elims.
Trained by Clyde Francis of Harrington, the Delaware sired altered son of Mr. Wiggles bested another rival, $378,558-winner Yankee Bounty, owned-in part by Harrington's Frank Chick, who finished third, and also qualified for Saturday's C$1-million final.
Harrington was also prominent in another of three North American Cup elims when 6-1 longshot Wakizashi Hanover, trained by JoAnn King of the Jim King Stable, upset last season's 2-year-old champion Artspeak, also in 1:49.2, to win his fourth in his last five races.
The gelding has now banked $198,257 with his sixth win in a short 11 race career.
In a $35,000 Roses Are Red elim for female pacers, Yagonnakissmeornot, bred by Roll The Dice Stable of Wilmington, Del., was a fast closing second while Weeper, owned in part by Joe and JoAnn Thomson, owners of Winbak Farm of Delaware, was the beaten favorite but finished fourth behind Winbak-bred Lady Shadow and qualified for the lucrative final on Saturday.
Another Delaware-owned mare, The Wiz Kids Stable's Table Talk also qualified for the Roses Are Red final finishing fourth in her elim.
And at Yonkers Raceway in New York, Backstreet Hanover, owned by David Hamm of Seaford, Del. was an easy winner of the $50,000 1-1/4 Open trot feature in 2:26 over the distance.
Marv Bachrad