If Mark Steacy was looking for a reason to justify keeping lightly-raced pacing colt Who Said Not To eligible to the 2017 Pepsi North America Cup, he might have got his answer on Friday morning.
Making his first appearance of 2017, Who Said Not To was the swiftest and most impressive of the Friday morning qualifiers at Mohawk Racetrack. In rein to James MacDonald, the son of Well Said - Thou Shalt Not made every call a winning one through splits of :27.4, :57.1 and 1:26.2 before a :27 final panel to trip the timer in 1:53.2. His closest rival was more than ten lengths in arrears.
A $140,000 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale purchase, Who Said Not To is owned by trainer Steacy along with Hudson Standrdbrd Stable Inc. of Hudson, Que., Bertrand Gilhespy Stable of Edmonton, Alta. and Conrad Leber of Montreal, Que. The half brother to speedster and near-millionaire Lost For Words made just four starts at two, compiling a 1-2-0 record.
Who Said Not to is listed at 65-1 in the Trot Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, and is one of 53 colts still North America Cup-eligible after the April 15 payment.
Another North America Cup-eligible colt was also victorious on Friday morning as Talbot Romeo made his first appearance since late February, winning in 1:54.1 for driver Mike Saftic, trainer John Pentland and owner Karen Carroll of Shedden, Ont. Talbot Romeo just missed the top 10 of the Trot NA Cup Spring Book, coming in at 25-1.
For full results from Friday morning's qualifiers, click the following link: Friday Qualifiers - Mohawk Racetrack.