The Meadows' Thursday morning qualifying session featured the return of Grand Circuit stakes winner Twilight Bonfire.
Driven by Tony Hall for trainer Rich Gillock, Twilight Bonfire sat fifth through early fractions of :28.2 and :57.3 before following cover past the 1:26.4 third quarter mark. He then cruised home to a three and a half length victory in 1:56. Fashion Fluzzy and That Friske Feelin finished second and third in the mile.
Bob Key's homebred son of The Panderosa will look to become a millionaire in his four-year-old campaign, with career earnings currently at $926,950. He earned $669,822 in his sophomore year with 13 top three finishes in 24 starts and was named The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association's Horse of the Year.
Among his accomplishments, Twilight Bonfire won a division of the Reynolds Stake and was a runner-up in the Pepsi North America Cup to U.S. divisional champion Captaintreacherous. He was also a close second in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship and Cleveland Classic and finished third in the Battle of the Brandywine and Messenger Stakes.
Invitational pacer Itrustyou posted the fastest mile of the morning in 1:53.4 (:27.4 fnal quarter) for driver Dave Palone and trainer Ron Burke. The six-year-old gelding has won back-to-back qualifiers to start his season -- both by a margin of seven lengths.
Both Twilight Bonfire and Itrustyou are eligible to Yonkers Raceway's George Morton Levy Memorial Pacing Series, which begins on Saturday, March 22.