Breeders Crown champion trotter Chapter Seven put forth a speedy 1:51.4 career-best mile in his four-year-old debut during Saturday morning's qualifying session at Meadowlands Racetrack
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Leaving from post two in the four-horse field, Chapter Seven and driver Tim Tetrick fired out to a two and a half length lead and extended that margin as he trotted past panels of :29, :57.3 and 1:25. An eye-catching :26.4 final frame put the Windsongs Legacy-La Riviera Lindy horse on top by nearly 15 lengths at the finish. Double Up Hanover was second and Four Starz Cherry was more than 41 lengths back in third.
The mile time was just one-fifth of a second off the track record for four-year-old trotting stallions, held by Kadabra, Law Man and Hot Shot Blue Chip.
Linda Toscano trains the career winner of $932,333 for owners Richard Gutnick, Gary Cocco, Southwind Farm, and J And T Silva Stables LLC. She indicated earlier this year that Chapter Seven has been staked heavily and has hopes to make it to the Maple Leaf Trot.
Heavyweight pacer Won The West won his second qualifier back after being sidelined by a re-occurring injury following last year's Canadian Pacing Derby. With David Miller aboard, the eight-year-old Western Ideal-Gabrielle gelding sat third through fractions of :28, :56.4, and 1:24.4 before unleashing a :26-second final frame to score in 1:51.2. Stablemate Westardho Hanover finished three-quarters of a length behind in second off a pocket trip while millionaire Hypnotic Blue Chip finished third in his season's debut after setting the pace. The 36-time winner with close to $4 million earned in purses is trained by Ron Burke for Country Club Acres Inc., the Strollin Stable, and William J. Robinson.
Ontario Sires Stakes champion trotting filly Miss Paris, driven by David Miller, turned in a 1:59.1 winning qualifier in her fourth attempt of the season for trainer Richard 'Nifty' Norman. She advanced first up from fourth after the half and trotted home in :28-seconds for the one length victory. The Kadabra-Pizza Dolce sophomore miss is owned by Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, along with Herb Liverman and David McDuffee. American National champion Southwind Moni, another filly owned in part by Hartman, trailed the seven-horse field early on and used a :27.4 final frame to finish second.
To view Saturday's complete qualifying results, click on the following link: Saturday Results (Qualifiers) - Meadowlands Racetrack.