Last year's Horse of the Year in both U.S. and Canada, McWicked returned to the track on Tuesday, April 23 at Pompano Park in his first prep mile for his eight-year-old campaign.
Off a $1.6-million season, McWicked led every step in his qualifier to post a 1:51.2 mile off fractions of :27.4, :55.4 and 1:24.1. A :27.1 final quarter propelled McWicked to a seven-and-three-quarter length win margin over Prescient Beauty, who's readying for her sophomore campaign. Pompano's leading driver Wally Hennessey steered the McArdle stallion for the his winter conditioner, Jimmy McDonald.
"If you watched the God Made A Racehorse video, they were talking about McWicked and Moni Maker," Hennessey said after the qualifier.
A winner of 34 races from 93 starts, McWicked has over $4 million earned for owner S S G Stables. His 2018 campaign, consisting of 12 wins from 19 starts including victories in the Ben Franklin, William Haughton Memorial, Canadian Pacing Derby and Breeders Crown, led to him becoming the oldest horse ever awarded Horse of the Year honours both in the Dan Patch Awards and the O'Brien Awards.
Trainer Casie Coleman told Trot Insider earlier this month that the plans for McWicked after this qualifier would be to ship north to her stable later this week.
"I asked Jimmy, I said 'he's now eight, does he show it?' and he said 'nope, he's as good as he's ever been'."
With stablemate Prescient Beauty qualifying, Beautyonthebeach paced a 1:54 mile as she preps for her three-year-old season. The Kentucky Sires Stakes champion, who finished fourth in the Breeders Crown, set splits of :29.1, :57.1 and 1:26 on the lead, then kicked to a 10-and-a-quarter length win with a :28 final quarter. Doug McNair flew south to drive the Somebeachsomewhere filly, out of near-millionaire Precocious Beauty, for trainer Gregg McNair.