Osceola didn't have much competition during his qualifying test on Friday, Aug. 16 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. But he did face strong and familiar competition, and bested that competition with relative ease.

A two-horse qualifier on Friday morning featured a pair of established Gregg McNair trainees — four-year-old Osceola and 10-year-old Pikachu Hanover. Fittingly, Doug McNair got the call on the younger trotter while Trevor Henry was paired with the grizzled veteran.

Osceola made every call a winning one, managing sensible splits of :29.4, :59.1 and 1:28 before sprinting home in :27.1 for the 1:55.1 tune-up. Pikachu Hanover was an unasked three lengths in arrears.

Osceola (Muscle Mass - Armbro Exquisite) is owned by his trainer along with Willow Oak Ranch of Rogersville, Tenn. and Paul Hawman of Collingwood, Ont. The 2023 Hambletonian finalist sports a 10-3-5 summary from 33 appearances with a mark of 1:51.4 taken in Preferred action last month.

The video stream from the qualifying session will be posted here when available.

For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).

(Standardbred Canada)