Last seen nearly six months ago, top level trotter Oney Hall made his seven-year-old debut during the Saturday (Feb. 11) qualifying session at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Now under the tutelage of Chantal Mitchell, Oney Hall faced the gate in the fifth qualifier with regular pilot Trevor Henry at the controls. Oney Hall was an in-hand wire-to-wire winner 1:57.1, trotting home under no urging with a motionless reinsman at the lines. Look At Dat Kat (Jody Jamieson) was next best, less than three lengths in arrears.
Oney Hall (Deweycheatumnhowe - On With The Show) won six straight Preferred / Free-For-All trots as part of a seven-race win streak during the spring of 2022. He boasts 27 wins, $474,894 in purses and a mark of 1:51.1 for breeder / owner Alan Leavitt.
Another Preferred level competitor was also impressive during the final qualifier of the morning. Woodmere Stealdeal prevailed and snapped the win streak of Saulsbrook Victor in the most recent edition of Mohawk's top class tussle. With no Preferred filling over the last two weeks, the connections of Woodmere Stealdeal placed the five-year-old in a tune-up test. He passed it with flying colours.
As Uhtred (Jamieson) and Yacht Seelster (Doug McNair) took turns on the lead, Jonathan Drury waited with Woodmere Stealdeal in third and didn't angle the speedster off the pylons until the homestretch. Pointed to the three-path around the early leaders, Woodmere Stealdeal paced home with a :26.4 final quarter to hit the wire in 1:54.1. He was more than three lengths better than stablemate Uhtred.
Trained by Carmen Auciello, Woodmere Stealdeal (Steelhead Hanover - Very Ideal Hanover) is owned by Frank Brundle, Glenn MacDonald and Bob Sumarah. The 27-time winner sports a mark of 1:49.1 with more than $307,000 in earnings.
The video stream from the Saturday qualifying session is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).