A trio of eliminations were contested Thursday night at the harness racing meeting at Mohawk Racetrack for the Peaceful Way Stakes.
A group of 22 two-year-old trotting fillies were separated into three $30,000 eliminations with the top three finishers and a fourth place finisher drawn by lot advancing to the $410,000 final on Saturday, September 19.
In the first division, Staffan Lind trainee Celebrity Eventsy looked like she was all by herself on the racetrack winning easily in 1:55.2.
Driven by Brett Miller, Celebrity Eventsy sprinted out to lead and posted an opening-quarter of :27.4.
A first turn break by Hills Angel, who sat second, left the Lind trainee on top by about ten lengths down the backstretch.
After a middle fractions of :56.3 and 1:26.1, Celebrity Eventsy trotted home in :29.1 to score an easy-looking four-length victory
"The only problem tonight she was pretty hot," said Miller following the race. "Going to the gate I was really worried, when I got up to the gate she pushed her face up against it and I was lucky to get her out of there trotting and once I got her out of there she was pretty hot and wanting to go fast."
Ultimate Shopper inherited second thanks to the first turn breaker and never gave up that position, while Pennies From Above overtook third in mid-stretch to qualify for the final.
A daughter of Manofmanymissions, Celebrity Eventsy is owned by Celebrity Farms and now has two wins from six starts to begin her career
. The Lind trainee lowered her career mark by a fifth of a second Thursday evening and increased her bankroll to over $34,000.
Celebrity Eventsy paid $7.30 to win.
The second division featured Caprice Hill coming out on top in a great stretch battle with All The Time.
Sent off as the 4/5 favourite, Caprice Hill flashed some early speed for driver Tim Tetrick, but All The Time and Yannick Gingras, at odds of 2/1, were able to power by on the outside and take command heading into the first turn.
Emoticon Hanover, the third-choice, left from post two and got away third.
The fillies sat in those positions through fractions of :27.4, :58.1 and 1:27.1 to set up a stretch battle.
In the lane, Caprice Hill came to the outside and went toe-to-toe with All The Time.
The fillies slugged it out, but in deep stretch Caprice Hill was able overtake the lead and win by three-quarters of a length in 1:55.
Emoticon Hanover stayed right with the top pair and came up just a neck short of getting by All The Time for second.
A daughter of Kadabra, Caprice Hill is trained by Tony Alagna for owner Tom Hill.
The rookie trotting filly has drawn plenty of hype for her impressive performances this season and now has five wins from six starts.
"I was happy with (the two-hole)," said Tetrick following the race. "Yannick's got a nice filly and it's always good to follow one of Takter's and take it as easy on mine this week because next week is where the big money is and hopefully that trip will pay off next week."
Thursday night was Tetrick's second time driving the Alagna trainee and he was able to gain some redemption after driving the filly in her only loss on August 4.
"I was kind of mad at myself or embarrassed she got beat," said Tetrick. "She should have never got beat, she's a nice filly and luckily she showed that again tonight."
Caprice Hill increased her earnings to over $172,000 with the victory and lowered her career mark by two-fifths. She paid $3.70 to win.
Could It Be Magic stretched her win streak to four in a row with a 1:56.4 in the final elimination.
Trained and driven by Wayne Henry, Could It Be Magic, the 3/5 favourite, got away second behind High Heels, who posted an opening-quarter in :27.4. There was no switch in position through middle-half panels of :57 and 1:26.3.
Could It Be Magic popped the pocket at the top of the lane and overtook the lead. Dewdle All Day tried to chase down the favourite, but she came up a length and a quarter short, as the Henry trainee scored her sixth win in seven starts.
Crazy Wild Desire was able to get up late for third to advance to the final.
High Heels faded back to fourth, but afterwards won the draw of fourth-place finishers to advance to the final.
Following the race, Henry said Could It Be Magic is a simple and versatile filly.
"She's pretty straight forward," he said. "She can do it both ways. She likes the front, but she will come from behind."
A daughter of Kadabra, Could It Be Magic is owned by Henry Stable and Fred Brayford.
The rookie trotting filly has banked over $164,000 in seven starts.
Could It Be Magic paid $3.20 to win.
The Peaceful Way final will take place on Saturday, September 19 and will be part of a stacked Maple Leaf Trot and Canadian Trotting Classic undercard.
Following the eliminations Thursday, the post positions were drawn for the $410,000 Peaceful Way final.
1. Pennies From Above
2. Emoticon Hanover
3. Could It Be Magic
4. Caprice Hill
5. Celebrity Eventsy
6. Ultimate Shopper
7. High Heels
8. Crazy Wild Desire
9. Dewdle All Day
10. All The Time
AE: Side Bet Hanover
Mark McKelvie