Trainer Bob McIntosh, whose Bramalea Hanover won last night's Celias Counsel Trotting Series final, is used to having more than one stable powerhouse
. Tomorrow morning one of his O'Brien Award winning pacers will set foot on the track for the first time in seven months.
Nebupanezzar, the 2008 O'Brien Award winning millionaire freshman will attempt his first qualifier since a few attempts in August 2009. McIntosh told Trot Insider last September that while the horse did qualify in relatively swift fashion -- two miles in the 1:52 range -- he wasn't content with how the son of No Pan Intended came out of the qualifying tests.
“After the last qualifier I didn't like the look of his leg. I sent him to Rood & Riddle to Dr. Larry Bramlage for surgery,” said McIntosh. The surgery was to repair a tendon tear reported in May.
In 2008, McIntosh guided Nebupanezzar to a record-breaking season in which the colt achieved rare rookie millionaire status. From 14 starts, Nebupanezzar notched 10 wins including the $820,000 Governors Cup while also finishing second in the $1 million Metro Pace.
McIntosh sends out the now four-year-old Nebupanezzar in the fourth qualifier, from Post 6 with Ron Henderson driving. Henderson will also sit behind that pacer's full sibling, The Mohegan Pan, in Race 2. Both pacers were among the 2010 Molson Pace nominees announced in early March.
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