After a deluge of talented freshmen fillies flooded Woodbine Mohawk Park for baby races on Thursday, the rookie colts were on-track to strut their stuff on Friday (June 15).
The first mile of the day ended up being the fastest of the 10 qualifiers scheduled for the Campbellville, Ont. oval, and the chart line doesn't do Luziana justice. With Phil Hudon at the controls, Luziana patiently paced in third as Grand Poobah (Jonathan Drury) handled the fractions through the first three stations (:28, :58.4, 1:27.4) before a first-up bid. Turning for home, it appeared that off-cover closer Century Fury (Trevor Henry) would pace by the pacesetter and first-up challenger but Luziana would not be denied. The pacing colt re-rallied and hit the wire first for the 1:55.3 decision over Century Fury with Keystone Prestige closing well for third.
A $12,000 Harrisburg Yearling Sale purchase, Luziana (Sweet Lou - For My Mom) is trained by Bill Budd for owner Bruce Davy of Brockville, Ont. The immediate family of Luziana includes open class stakes winner Cheyenne Rei (a full-brother to the dam), millionaire Yagonnakissmeornot and the fastest horse in harness racing history, Always B Miki.
On the trotting side, White Tiger was the most impressive freshman of the morning with a dominant gate-to-wire winning performance. Anthony MacDonald was at the controls for wife and trainer Amy MacDonald as White Tiger ferociously powered through fractions of :30.1, 1:00.2 and 1:29 before kicking home in :28.4 to trip the timer in 1:57.4.
Purchased for $22,000 by the MacDonalds for their fractional ownership conglomerate TheStable.ca, White Tiger (Muscle Massive - Just Not Into You) is the third foal from his dam and the first with a sub-2:00 record.
For the full results from Friday's qualifying session at Mohawk, click the following link: Friday Baby Races - Mohawk Racetrack.