The Meadowlands Racetrack hosted a 15-race qualifying card this morning, which saw older warriors and Pepsi North America Cup eligibles pace victorious miles
over the one-mile course.
The session kicked off with Boulder Creek, the richest Ontario-bred in history, bettering My Little Dragon in a 1:53.3 mile. The nine-year-old Pacific Rocket gelding went wire-to-wire and finished up with :26.4 final-quarter speed. My Little Dragon took a pocket trip and finished two lengths in arrears, pacing in 1:54.
Race 2 saw NA Cup eligibles finish first and second, as the Noel Daley-trained and Ron Pierce-driven Western Posse wired a field of seven with a 1:58.2 mile, capped off with a :26.3 final quarter. Western Posse is pegged as a 60-1 shot in Trot Magazine's 2009 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book. After sitting in the garden spot through the mile, the Steve Elliott-trained and John Campbell-driven Pair A Dice finished second by one length, covering his mile in 1:58.3. Pair A Dice was assessed as a 65-1 shot in the Spring Book.
Fast forward to Race 9 and three more Cup eligibles were putting in miles, though the outcome was not what connections would've wished for. Mega Lightning, a gelding in the qualifier, made a break near the three-quarters pole. Mega Lightning caused interference to each of the three Cup eligibles. Allamerican Chief (95-1 in Spring Book) finished fourth, pacing in 1:58.2, while Aintnofoolsgold (110-1) finished fifth, also pacing in 1:58.2. Blazing Son (150-1) finished sixth, covering his mile in 1:59.
Cup eligibles flashed some speed in Race 12, as Drink Up (120-1) and Vertigo Hanover (38-1) finished first and second, respectively, in a 1:54 mile. Drink Up converted a pocket trip, while Vertigo Horizon had taken a three-hole ride.