This morning's session of qualifiers from Mohawk Racetrack offered a little bit of everything: a pair of colts eligible to the North America Cup; a popular horseman making his return, and a gelding trained by an unlikely conditioner
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Trained by Jeff Gillis and driven by Jody Jamieson, Twin B Warrior, rated at odds of 38-1 in Trot Magazine's 2010 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book, qualified triumphantly in Race 5. Jamieson sent the three-year-old Apaches Fame colt to the front early from Post 5 and the bay went on to cut the fractions in :28.3, 56.4 and 1:25.4. Coming home in 28 seconds, Twin B Warrior stopped the clock in 1:53.4 with a four and a quarter-length margin of victory.
Putting in his second straight qualifying effort in Race 2, the Mark MacDonald-driven and Jean Louis Arsenault-trained Stonebridge Terror converted a pocket trip. The four-year-old son of Western Terror paced off in the final quarter en-route to the three and three-quarter-length win in 1:55.1. Mr Saratoga and driver Dan Clements closed for second in the dash. This morning's Mohawk qualifying session was Clements' first action back on Canadian soil since coming back from Florida's Pompano Park.
Race 4 saw bay Ken Warkentin gelding Boogie Woogie close for a half-length victory in 1:58.4. Up behind the three-year-old was none other than pilot Keith Oliver, who also owns and trains the bay. This morning's qualifying effort by Boogie Woogie marked the second time the gelding has qualified for Oliver, both of which have been wins. In terms of training, Oliver sent out a starter once in 2003 and 2001, and before then had horses racing up until 1997.
The other NA Cup eligible which was in action this morning was Stonebridge Design (150-1 in Spring Book), who was putting in his first-ever charted line in Race 7. The Artsplace ridgling broke stride before the opening quarter and went on to finish well back. Stonebridge Design paced his mile in 1:59.2.
To view the charted results from this morning's qualifying session at Mohawk, click here.