In a blanket finish, Mantacular, a 26-1 longshot with Hall of Fame driver Cat Manzi at the controls, tipped five wide down the stretch to nip a resurgent Metropolitan at the wire and win the $1,629,500 Pepsi North America Cup, Canada’s richest horse race, Saturday at Woodbine.
In one of the closest finishes in the 21 editions of the classic, which brought together the finest three-year-old pacers on the continent, only one and one-half lengths separated the first six finishers. The margin of victory was a head, as Mantacular closed steadily down the lane to decision Metropolitan on the inside, driven by John Campbell, who was seeking a record seventh Cup. Panspacificflight hung on for third, a length back, while Western Terror nosed out a group for fourth.
It was Ontario-owned hopeful Rogue Hall who took over from Metropolitan after the quarter, taking the field to the half in :54.2. The son of Cambest, driven by Paul MacDonell, still held the lead while being challenged on the outside by Panspacificflight after three-quarters was reached in 1:23. But as the field turned for home into a stiff headwind, it turned into a free-for-all in mid-stretch as the leaders wilted and the closers started to pounce. Favoured Georgia Pacific and driver Brian Sears, who was second over off the far turn, had dead aim on the leaders in early stretch but couldn’t brush past, eventually fading slightly to fifth, but only a length from the winner’s circle. Rogue Hall wound up seventh, four lengths behind the winner. Meanwhile, Mantacular, on the extreme outside, had clear sailing and wore them all down at the end, taking the Cup in 1:51.2.
"It couldn’t have gone any better," said Manzi, who was celebrating his first win a million dollar race and hadn’t driven in the Cup since 1991. "You never know how these things will go, but I had an idea that the colt could race better if I conserved him early because I like the way he raced at Mohawk. (Trainer) Larry Rathbone has done a great job, I have been friends with him for 30 years. The truth (is) I ended up following Georgia Pacific. It was a perfect thing, leaving the gate, I could see I could fall in behind him. He is a good leaver and he’s versatile."
Owned by M And L Of Delaware Inc. of Wilmington, Mantacular, a son of Western Hanover, was winning for the first time in seven starts this year, after a two-year-old campaign which saw him take eight of 13 outings and $232,974. With the win, Mantacular picked up a pot of $814,750. He paid $55.10 to win. He wasn’t the longest shot to win the Cup, though. That record is still held by Goalie Jeff, who returned $93.60 to win in 1989.
