Waples chats Control The Moment

Many eyes were on Control The Moment in his harness racing season debut last week and although he didn’t win, the son of Well Said certainly made some noise.

The Brad Maxwell trainee paced a mile in 1:49 with a :26 final-quarter in his season debut to finish second to Lyons Snyder in a division of the Somebeachsomewhere. If it’s possible to make a statement without winning, Control The Moment certainly put the sophomore division on notice with his big effort right out of the gate.

“He raced extremely well,” said driver Randy Waples. “But I mean that was only his first start of the year and he’s going to need a couple of starts before he is right on his game.”

Control The Moment not at the top of his game is very good, which could strike some fear into his competition for when he reaches his top level.

“That’s the kind of horse he is, he’s able to do that kind of stuff,” Waples said about the impressive season debut. “So I was pretty happy with him.”

However, the son of Well Said is on a tight schedule to reach his ‘A’ game with the Pepsi North America Cup eliminations Saturday night.

Waples is hopeful Control The Moment’s pure talent will carry him through the next few weeks.

“He doesn’t have much time left so I’m hoping the natural athleticism shows up and he starts winning races in the next week or two.”

Last year’s O’Brien Award winner and Metro Pace champion will need to be ready for a fight in Saturday’s Cup elimination. Control The Moment drew into arguably the tougher of two eliminations against the likes of Lyons Snyder, Betting Line and Check Six.

“It is a tough division, but if he is what he is supposed to be then he’s going to have to face them at some point anyways,” noted Waples. “I just figure he’s one of the tough ones as well.”

Control The Moment has a favourable starting spot in post-three for the Cup elimination.

The top five finishers from each elimination will advance to the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup final.

Needing to be in the top five to qualify for final is less pressure than being top three, as in recent years, but Waples believes the impact of only two eliminations is felt in the draw for the final.

“Even with the two divisions if you don’t win and you don’t get to pick your post, there is only really going to be two good posts gone, probably the two or three, the three or the four,” said Waples. “So that is going to leave lots of opportunities to maybe get lucky and draw a good post.”

Control The Moment enters the Cup eliminations with an impressive career resume of eight wins in 10 starts and earnings of over $480,000. The talented son of Well Said recently acquired a new group of owners, as Tara Hills Stud Ltd. purchased a piece of the O’Brien Award winner.

The Maxwell trainee will look to bring Cup success to the newly formed Control The Moment Stable starting with Saturday’s elimination.

Here are the full fields for the Pepsi North America Cup eliminations.

PP/Horse/Driver/Trainer

1st Elimination

1. Highlandbeachycove by Somebeachsomewhere (Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna)

2. Check Six by Somebeachsomewhere (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)

3. Control The Moment by Well Said (Randy Waples – Brad Maxwell)

4. Lyons Snyder by Well Said (Sylvain Filion – Mark Silva)

5. Beast Mode by Rock N Roll Heaven (Sylvain Filion – Robert Reid)

6. Betting Line by Bettor's Delight (David Miller – Casie Coleman)

7. Im Some Graduate by Somebeachsomewhere (John Campbell – Tom Cancelliere)

8. Ideal Rocky by Rocknroll Hanover (Corey Callahan – John Butenschoen)

9. Racing Hill by Roll With Joe (Brett Miller – Tony Alagna)

2nd Elimination

1. Nocturnal Bluechip by Bettor's Delight (Paul MacDonell – Mark Steacy)

2. Boston Red Rocks by Rocknroll Hanover (Tim Tetrick – Steve Elliott)

3. Brookdale Sonny by Bettor's Delight (Mike Saftic – Dr. Ian Moore)

4. Nvestment Bluechip by Shadow Play (Jody Jamieson – Dave Menary)

5. Michaels Victory by Rocknroll Hanover (Sylvain Filion – Mark Silva)

6. Big Top Hanover by Western Ideal (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)

7. Manhattan Beach by Somebeachsomewhere (Yannick Gingras – Ron Burke)

8. American Passport by American Ideal (Scott Zeron – Tony Alagna)

9. Magnum J  by Big Jim (Doug McNair – Gregg McNair)

Hannah Beckett for WEG Communications