Freshmen Out In Mohawk Qualifiers
The Monday morning nine-race qualifying session at Mohawk Racetrack featured a quartet of two-year-old races
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In the first freshman event, the Jack Kopas-trained Shipps Xtravganza and driver Jack Moiseyev sat third for most of the mile before using a :29.1 final frame to catch the pacesetter, Up The Ante (Randy Waples), by a neck. In his fourth outing, the Astreos-Daylon Finesse gelding clocked the mile in 1:58.1.
Driver Trevor Ritchie and trainer Rheal Bourgeois teamed up in the second race sending the two-year-old trotter, Lexis Noah, home in 2:00 flat. The Malabar Maple-Conway Connie colt left from Post 5 and carved out all the fractions en route to an 11-length score, with his last quarter clocked in :28.4. It was Lexis Noah’s first clean line since breaking stride in his Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination on July 16 at Mohawk.
In Race 3, Starting Bid cleared the lead from Post 8 at the quarter pole and drew away to a four length victory in 2:00 for driver Sylvain Filion and trainer Gregg McNair. The freshman Camluck-Smiling Beauty pacing filly put in her second qualifier since finishing sixth in her pari-mutuel debut at Hanover Raceway on July 1.
Sparkle Hall capped off the two-year-old action with a six and three-quarter length score in line to Trevor Ritchie. The daughter of Conway Hall-Armbro Sparkle pulled the pocket after the opening quarter and trotted home in 2:02.3 to win her second straight qualifier for trainer Harold Lunde. Sparkle Hall was a $62,000 Lexington Select sale purchase for owner Ole Bach Nielsen of E Windsor, New Jersey.
In sophomore action, Special Sweetheart went wire-to-wire in 1:54, winning by a dazzling 17 lengths for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Tom Artandi. The daughter of Western Ideal–Ladys Special Girl has scored three of her six wins this year and sports a bankroll of $327,441. She recently finished fourth behind Not Enough in the Fan Hanover.
In the sixth race, the three-year-old Amigo Hall-Our Kuli Girl trotting filly Singin Moe brushed first-up at three-quarters from third and out-sprinted pacesetter Aden Hanover (Per Henrikson) with a :29.1 final quarter to win in 1:59.4 by a length. Jason Brewer did the driving for Frank O’Reilly. Singin Moe triumphed in her first race, an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots division last August, but remains winless in five starts this year.
With Randy Waples in the bike, the four-year-old Cigar Hall front-stepped his way to a 1:55.2 score in the seventh dash for trainer Gord Remmen. The Cambest – Color Trend gelding prevailed by two and quarter lengths over the first-over challenger, Winter Blues (John Holmes), who has been on the shelf since the accident in the Ontario Boys Pacing Series Final on March 2.
Mystic River coasted gate-to-wire in the eighth race stopping the clock in 2:00.1. The four-length winner was driven by Steve Condren for Frank O’Reilly. A three-year-old trotting filly by Kadabra out of Celebrity Belle, Mystic River, who scored her first career win in a Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final on May 17 at Mohawk, has earned the majority of her $95,005 bankroll this year.
The final qualifier of the day went to seven-year-old trotter Adam T and Randy Waples. The son of Angus Hall-Cool Reins led every step of the way en route to a 1:58.2 victory by six and three-quarter lengths. The career winner of $423,901 put in his first charted line since starting in the Glorys Comet Trotting Series at Woodbine in January for trainer Shane Weber.
To view the charted lines from Monday’s qualifying session, click here.