The $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie at MGM Northfield Park is loaded with equine firepower. Scheduled for Saturday (June 11), the nine-horse field includes five millionaires, world-record holders, and winners of countless stakes races. The fastest horse of 2022 leaves from post two in the field with driver Joe Bongiorno at the helm for trainer Jenn Bongiorno. Nicholas Beach stopped the timer in 1:47 at the Meadowlands on May 21 to lay claim to the "fastest" moniker but was only able to finish fourth as the 1-2 favorite last time out in the $100,000 Commodore Barry at Harrah's Philadelphia. "The track was a little off that day. He wears full pads and I'm not sure they were the best shoes for that day on that racetrack," said Joe Bongiorno. "At the end of the day, he wasn't at his best last time and I think we got beat a length for the whole thing. He's a very good horse and we just need a little luck with our trip." While Joe Bongiorno admitted he prefers Nicholas Beach on a mile track, the horse has won multiple times on the half, five-eighths and mile surfaces. Northfield is perhaps a different animal as a well-banked half-mile track that plays quite well to horses which want to race in the two-path. "We haven't raced him at Northfield but I'm pretty sure he can go a big mile on that track. It is a forgiving and kind track for horses so I think he should like it there," said Joe Bongiorno, who was a semi-regular there earlier in his career. A glaring feature of the Battle of Lake Erie field as a whole is early speed as Sectionline Bigry (post one), Nicholas Beach, Ocean Rock (post four) and Tattoo Artist (post six) all seem highly likely to fire off the wings of the gate. Then there are others like This Is The Plan (post five), Leonidas A (post seven) and Jimmy Freight (post eight) who have been known to leave hard on occasion. The plethora of early speed could lead to a crowded first turn, a fast pace and perhaps play into the hands of a horse like Catch The Fire from the second tier. Of course Catch The Fire is no stranger to starting off the gate. In the 2021 Battle of Lake Erie he also had post nine and was unlucky to come away seventh early as neither the horse in post one or two left strongly enough to detour the outside speedsters. Trainer Todd Luther is hoping that the results are much different this year since he's been aiming for this race as his early-season goal. "We prepped him this year to get two or three starts in him to set him up for the Battle and then give him a break before the big ones," said Luther, who mentioned the Sam McKee at the Meadowlands in early August as the 5-year-old's next goal. "He's come back really good this year. He's a lot stronger and I think he'll give a big effort." Also a stallion standing at Sugar Valley Farm in Ohio, Catch The Fire is currently doing double-duty until early July, but that has hardly affected his on-track performance. He was second in his 2022 debut on May 28 and missed by just a length to get the place spot behind Ocean Rock on June 4 at Scioto. "He doesn't even know that he is jumping and racing. He's a very professional horse, but we are going to skip jumping him this week and hopefully that works out," said Luther. Catch The Fire and driver Trevor Smith were installed as the 6-1 fifth choice on the morning-line behind the aforementioned Ocean Rock at 3-1. The 2021 Breeders Crown Open Pace winner is also making just his third start of the year and he owns a 1:48 1/5 mark over the track, the fastest mile by a 4-year-old gelding on a half. Dan Noble will drive for his wife, trainer Christi Noble. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter With the strength of the field, it is no surprise that the fastest performer in history on a half-mile track is also in the field. This Is The Plan stopped the clock in 1:47 3/5 while winning the 2021 Battle of Lake Erie. With regular driver Yannick Gingras at Woodbine Mohawk Park Saturday, Ronnie Wrenn Jr. has picked up the assignment in the sulky. While the post position draw wasn't kind to him, Jimmy Freight is undoubtedly the sharpest horse in the field. After taking two years off to pursue a stallion career, the now 7-year-old has reeled off six consecutive victories, including beating some of tonight's foes in the C$150,000 Camluck Classic on May 27 at The Raceway at Western Fair. Jimmy Freight will also be without regular driver Louis Roy as Billy Davis Jr. takes over. The 11th race on a blockbuster 15-race program that also features two divisions of the Ohio Sires Stakes for 3-year-old colt pacers - including Breeders Crown runner-up Gulf Shores - gets underway at 6 p.m. EDT. The Battle of Lake Erie will begin a $15,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 and include an equally-promised Hi-5 pool. $200,000 Battle of Lake Erie - Northfield Park - Race 11 - June 11 Post-Horse-Driver-Morning Line 1-Sectionline Bigry-Brett Miller-10-1 2-Nicholas Beach-Joe Bongiorno-7-2 3-Funatthebeach N-Jordan Stratton-20-1 4-Ocean Rock-Dan Noble-3-1 5-This Is The Plan-Ronnie Wrenn Jr.-8-1 6-Tattoo Artist-Mark MacDonald-9-2 7-Leonidas A-Austin Siegelman-15-1 8-Jimmy Freight-Billy Davis Jr.-4-1 9-Catch The Fire-Trevor Smith-6-1