O’Brien Award winner Mister Herbie returned to action Monday evening at Woodbine Racetrack and registered his first charted line since finishing second to Chapter Seven in the Breeders Crown on October 27, 2012.
The Jeff Gillis pupil, who was voted Canada’s Older Trotting Horse of the Year in 2012, cruised to a 1:58.2 victory in his first qualifier of the season. Mister Herbie marched to immediate command for driver Jody Jamieson and led through fractions of :29.1, :59.2 and 1:28.4 before using a :29.3 closing quarter into a very strong head wind to win by 4-1/2 lengths. The ORC Judges allowed a two-second variant because of the windy conditions.
“Our intention is to take him overseas to the Oslo Grand Prix, which is May 12, and potentially the Elitlopp,” Jeff Gillis told Trot Insider last month.
The five-year-old son of Here Comes Herbie-Independent Lassie, who is owned by Gillis, Mac Nichol and Gerald Stay, put together a 6-4-0 record from 12 starts last season while banking more than $950,000 in the process. The career winner in excess of $1.2 million took his mark of 1:50.4 at Mohawk Racetrack in last year’s Maple Leaf Trot
To view results for Monday's qualifiers, click the following link: Monday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.