Three 2025 O'Brien Award winners made 2026 debuts during the session of qualifiers on Saturday, April 11 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, with two of those entrants crossing the wire first.
Saturday's session featured 13 dashes, headlined by award winners A Clean Deal, Logan Park and Strobe Lite. Canada's Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly of the Year in 2025, A Clean Deal finished a solid second in her return effort for driver Doug McNair, trainer Kyle Fellows and owners Yolanda Fellows, Blair Corbeil, Windermere Stable LLC and James Ross. She paced her mile in 1:55.4, the same time clocked by stablemate Logan Park in his eight-year-old debut.
In the morning's sixth qualifier, McNair sat the pocket with Logan Park as Landing On Time (Rick Zeron) fronted a field of four through fractions of :29.2, :58.1 and 1:27.1. Logan Park received a right-line tug from McNair in the stretch, and Logan Park effortlessly trotted by the temposetter to trip the timer three lengths the best in the fastest trotting mile of the morning. Landing On Time was second, with Getthegreen (James MacDonald) next across.
Canada's Older Trotting Horse of the Year for the last three years, Logan Park (Archangel - Rite Outa The Park) is trained by Kyle Fellows for Outofthepark Stable of Rockwood, Ont., Reg Higgs of Blenheim,Ont. and Arpad Szabo of Bradford, Ont. Now eight, Logan Park sports 44 wins and more than $2.2 million in earnings along with a mark of 1:49.2.
The pocket trip proved to be the winning formula for Strobe Lite, Canada's Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year for 2025, in his three-year-old debut. Driver James MacDonald wedged his way into the pocket behind In The Black (Bob McClure) after the :29.2 opening split. In The Black fronted the field through a :58.4 half and 1:28.1 third station, and maintained his advantage turning for home. In deep stretch, Strobe Lite received his cue from MacDonald and angled to the outside of the leader for a late lunge that served as the winning move in the 1:56.4 mile. Strobe Lite bested In The Black by half a length, with Beau Knight (Jody Jamieson) the best of the rest in third.
Strobe Lite (Alarm Detector - Shine Bright) is owned by trainer Ben Baillargeon of Guelph, Ont., Claude Hamel of Orford, Que., Nunzio Vena of Bolton, Ont. and breeder Glengate Farms of Erin, Ont. The gelding posted a 3-3-3 summary from his 11 outings and banked $379,921 in his rookie season.
Another Baillargeon pupil, Remember The Alamo posted the fastest pacing mile of the morning after driver Tyler Borth guided the Open class pacer to a 1:53.3 mile in his return to action. The son of Captaintreacherous - Ameraway made every call a winning one, holding off Chain Gang (Trevor Henry) by half a length. No Control (Jamieson) completed the top trio.
Now five, Remember The Alamo sports a mark of 1:48.2 with 14 wins and $409,768 in earnings. He's owned by Baillargeon, Santo Vena of Cedar Valley, Ont. Nunzio Vena and Frank Cirillo of Kleinburg, Ont.
The full video stream is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Saturday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).
(Standardbred Canada; photo of Logan Park winning at Mohawk)