By virtue of a 1:56.3 victory, Lyons Night Hawk led a trio of Pepsi North America Cup eligibles who qualified on Friday morning (April 19) at the Southern Oaks Training Center, just north of Orlando, Fla.
Lyons Night Hawk, installed at 40-1 in TROT Magazine's 2019 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, yielded to fellow Cup eligible Century Farroh (45-1 Spring Book) in their qualifier and drafted through middle fractions of 1:00.4 and 1:29.3 before unleashing a :26.4 closing quarter to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
Atlee Bender drove Lyons Night Hawk, a son of Sweet Lou whose biggest score at two came by way of a 1:50.2 win in a $73,800 Bluegrass event, for trainer Gareth Dowse and owner Geoffrey Lyons Mound. Runner-up Century Farroh, who competed primarily on the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots circuit as a freshman, was driven by trainer Dr. Ian Moore for the Ratchford Stable of Nova Scotia.
Dowse also sent Lyons Johnnyjnr (50-1 Spring Book) to post on the seven-race qualifying session. In his event, the son of Well Said gave chase to Silas Seelster (Moore) from the pocket through a :26.4 last quarter to miss by only a neck in 1:56. Curtis Carey handled the driving duties.
It was the first qualifier of the spring for both Dowse trainees, while Century Farroh was returning from a 1:53.1 mile posted last week.