With the 2025 Breeders Crown Championship Finals just a week away, a pair of runners who didn’t need elimination action this weekend prevailed with authority during the qualifying session on Friday, October 17 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Standout older trotting mare Elista Hanover turned heads with her winning effort against a trio of Breeders Crown-bound competitors. Driver David Miller asked the daughter of International Moni – Increasingly to eliminate all fractions, she compiled with grace and style in a lifetime best performance of 1:51.1. After panels of :28, :56 and 1:24, she sprinted away from pocket-sized Periculum (Scott Zeron) with a :27.1 final quarter to win by more than two lengths. Emoji Hanover (James MacDonald) and Draw Impression (Louis-Philippe Roy) completed the field, finishing in unloaded third and fourth places respectively.
Annie Stoebe of New Egypt, NJ trains Elista Hanover and co-owns the millionaire with Lynn & Philomena Curry of West Chester, PA. She is one of nine older trotting mares that will compete in the 2025 Open Mare Trot on Saturday, October 25. The draw for this race will take place after the first race on Friday evening in Mohawk.
Two-year-old trotting colt Apex made his first start since the 2025 Mohawk Million and earned a bye in the Breeders Crown final thanks to his victory in the G1 Peter Haughton Memorial at Harrah’s Hoosier Park five weeks ago. Driver Dexter Dunn was the son of Walter – Mission Brief in the pocket behind Supergirl Molly (MacDonald) through early fractions of :28.3 and :57.3, just before the third station of 1:26.2 off the pylons. Apex rode home in hand with a final quarter of :27.4 and turned the timer in 1:54.1, eight lengths better than his nearest rival.
Owned by Jeffrey Snyder of New York, NY, SRF Stable of Del Ray Beach, Florida. and Steve Stewart of Paris, Kentucky, Apex heads to the Breeders Crown next Friday as the likely favorite. In eight starts, Apex boasts a 6-1-1 summary with more than $1.13 million in revenue. The draw for the final of the 2025 Breeders Crown for two-year-old male trotters will take place on Friday after the fifth race.
The full video stream is available below.
For the results of the qualifying session, click on the following link: Results Friday – Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).
By Standardbred Canada
#Elista #Hanover #Apex #upper #hand #Mohawk #Qualifiers