After a solid sophomore debut one week ago, pacing colt Beach Glass put forth another sharp effort on Friday (May 26) in advance of his first major stakes test of 2022.
Opening up the qualifying action, Beach Glass made every call a winning for Hall of Fame driver Paul MacDonell. After sensible but honest fractions of :28, :57.1 and 1:25.2, Beach Glass sprinted home in :26.4 to trip the timer in 1:52.1, three lengths the best. Kolby Twostep (Doug McNair) followed throughout and finished second, with Frozen Hanover (Bob McClure) rounding out the top three.
From the final crop of the legendary Somebeachsomewhere, Beach Glass is owned by Schooner II Stable of Truro, N.S., with Brent MacGrath handling the conditioning. The Pepsi North America Cup eligible will be pointed to the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes in a week's time.
Returning to the races after recovering from injury was 2020 O'Brien Award winner Lawless Shadow.
Now four, the son of Shadow Play was making his first public appearance in nine months since his gutsy victory in the 2021 Max Hempt at Pocono. Bob McClure handled the line for this morning's test, and had the Dr. Ian Moore trainee on top through splits of :27.3, :55.4, 1:23.3. In the lane he was gobbled up by pocket-sitting Warrawee Vital — making his second appearance of the year for trainer Rob Fellows and driver Sylvain Filion. Warrawee Vital paced his own final quarter in :27 to stop the clock in 1:50.4, with Lawless Shadow 2-3/4 lengths in arrears.
Another notable performer from the qualifying session was Herculisa, making her Canadian debut for trainer Virgil Morgan Jr. and driver James MacDonald. The four-year-old Ohio standout closed from the back of the pack at the head of the stretch to win comfortably in 1:53.3, trotting home in :26.3.
Owned by Jesmeral Stable, Scarsdale, N.Y., Herculisa (My Mvp - Herculotte Hanover) comes into Canada with a 2-0-1 summary from three starts this year, with next week's Graduate Series leg at Mohawk on her radar.
Video from the qualifying session is available below.
For results from Friday's qualifiers, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).