Broad Bahn Ties Canadian Record
A pair of Jimmy Takter trainees swept the first two $30,000
William Wellwood Memorial Trot eliminations for two-year-old
trotting colts and geldings on Friday night at Mohawk Racetrack
while Broad Bahn turned in a dazzling 1:55.1 victory in the
final event for Michael Vanderkemp.
In the opening elimination, Leader Of The Gang tied the track
record for two-year-old trotting colts with his 1:55.2 winning
effort, but that mark was later lowered as Broad Bahn stopped
the clock in 1:55.1 and equaled the Canadian record.
 In the first elimination, driver Ron Pierce sent
Leader Of The Gang to the lead from Post 4 while Edit (Brian
Sears), Rarely Ordinary (John Campbell) and even-money favourite
Talespinner (Mario Baillargeon) made early breaks off the gate.
After a :27.4 first quarter, Blue Porsche (Trevor Ritchie)
pulled the pocket and was stretched out before clearing at the
half in :56.3.
As Blue Porsche raced to three-quarters in 1:26.1, Pierce had
Leader Of The Gang out for the re-take and the Muscles
Yankee-Fraulien Bluestone colt devoured his rival in the stretch
and opened up five and a half lengths. The winning time of
1:55.2 equaled Senor Glide's track record for freshmen trotting
colts set in 2009. Delcrest Julian (Anthony MacDonald) was the
runner-up with Big Strike (Brad Kramer) finishing back in third.
When asked about the early breakers, Pierce noted that a few
colts got jammed up as the starting gate idled at the start of
the race.
"This colt, he can get in the pocket with two fingers,"
Pierce said of Leader Of The Gang. "I could see Blue Porsche
beginning to tire and just got him to the outside and he trotted
strong."
Leader Of The Gang paid $5.60 to win as the 9-5 second
choice. He picked up his fifth win in seven starts pushing his
bankroll to $246,218. The winner of the New Jersey Sires Stakes
Championship earlier this season is trained by Takter and owned
by Christina Takter, Brixton Medical Ab, Joyce McClelland, and R
A W Equine Inc.

Pastor Stephen rallied from off the pace and survived a
judges' inquiry to capture the second elimination for Takter.
Big Rigs (John Campbell) was first to fire off the gate with
Mister Herbie (Rick Zeron) rolling up to take control at the :27
first quarter mark. Refusing to sit a pocket trip, Big Rigs made
a backstretch brush and hit the half in :56.4, followed by
three-quarters in 1:26.4.
Meanwhile, Ridgeandfamous (Richard Beinhauer) had moved
underway from the backfield flushing Pastor Stephen and Yannick
Gingras out from third. At that point, Ridgeandfamous rode up on
Pastor Stephen's wheel and made a break, causing the inquiry.
Pastor Stephen continued to chase Big Rigs and got up for the
half-length score in 1:56. Bruce The Brave (Randy Waples)
rounded out the top three.
The judges' inquiry turned into a driver's objection launched
by Beinhauer against Gingras, but was overruled. The judges
determined that Gingras and Pastor Stephen already established
position before Beinhauer and Ridgeandfamous made contract with
Pastor Stephen's wheel.
“I had some flashbacks there [to the Peter Haughton] and
didn’t feel too good for a few minutes," said Gingras referring
Pastor Stephen's placing in the $500,000 event on Hambletonian
Day at the Meadowlands. "I thought I was in the right [tonight]
but I thought I was right at the Meadowlands too so you never
know what is going to happen."
The win was Pastor Stephen's fifth of the season in six
outings. His only loss came in the Haughton after he was set
back from first to sixth for causing interference.
“When I got to drop back in on Big Rigs’ back in the stretch,
I was confident in my colt. That definitely bravened my horse
up. He loves to win and has never been beat yet as far as I’m
concerned."
The son of Cantab Hall-Gala Dream paid $3.20 to win as the
popular choice. Christina Takter, John Fielding and Brittany
Farms share ownership of Pastor Stephen, who has banked $117,315
in his career.
 In the final elimination,
Broad Bahn pulled off a mild 7-1 upset with his
record-setting score after making a break over a sloppy track in
last week's Champlain Stakes.
Driven by Jack Moiseyev, Broad Bahn left from Post 8 and
settled into the pocket behind Just In (Mike Saftic). After a
:27.3 opening quarter, the son of Broadway Hall-Madonarail
rolled to command and cruised past stations of :57.2 and 1:27 en
route to a two and a half length score in 1:55.1. The time of
the mile equaled Lucky Chucky's Canadian record for freshmen
trotting colts, set at Woodbine Racetrack in 2009.
Favourite Neal (Brian Sears) advanced first up to place with
Whiskey Tax (John Campbell) finishing third.
“He felt good but after last week making a break I babied him
off the gate, which I didn’t have to as it turned out,” noted
Moiseyev in the winner's circle.
“After he made a break last week, he still caught the field
and finished fifth, so I knew he was a good horse. Once I got to
the lead tonight and got easy fractions, he was just cruising. I
was feeling confident around the last turn. He’s a big, strong
horse and he was strong at the wire.”
Vanderkemp trains the winner of three races in seven starts
and $90,536 for Fam Alber Horse Racing Llc.
Broad Bahn paid $16.00 to win.
The top three finishers from each elimination advance to next
week's $500,000 final with the winner’s getting to choose their
post positions. Fourth-place finisher Gotabgoodtoblucky also
drew in to the final.
Here is a look at the field in post position order for the
$500,000 Wellwood Memorial:
1. Bruce The Brave
2. Pastor Stephen
3. Leader Of The Gang
4. Broad Bahn
5. Big Rigs
6. Gotabgoodtoblucky
7. Delcrest Julian
8. Big Strike
9. Whiskey Tax
10. Neal
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