Trainer Gregg McNair sent out nine freshman colts during the mammoth 16-dash session of qualifiers on Friday (June 17) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and as one would expect his troops came ready for battle.
Of the nine McNair-trained rookies that went postward, four hit the wire first while eight finished in the top three by virtue of a 4-3-1 summary.
The fastest mile of the morning went to Huntinthelastdolar. That son of Huntsville - Eighthunrdolarbill closed well in his test for driver Doug McNair, pouncing on a legweary pacesetter Bettor Bea Terror (James MacDonald) and holding off the late rally of Moment Is Here (Trevor Henry) to win his debut by a nose in 1:58.1. A $60,000 Lexington Selected purchase, Huntinthelastdolar is co-owned by Gregg McNair with Steve Heimbecker of Waterloo in on the ownership as well. The colt is the fourth foal of a full-sister to millionaire Medusa and O'Brien Award winner Alicorn.
McNair pupils The Moment Arose (2:00.1), Day Trader (2:01.2) and Tip Top Cat (2:00) also captured their respective qualifiers, with Doug McNair handling the lines of each.
On the trotting side, someone must have told Crantini it was last call as the striking chestnut colt was in a league of his own in his second qualifier of the season. Anthony MacDonald was at the controls behind the half-brother to O'Brien Award winner Macho Martini, a wire-to-wire winner in 1:59.3. Of note, four of his rivals made breaks but the ones that stayed flat were a whopping 22 lengths or more in arrears.
A $35,000 Harrisburg buy, Crantini (International Moni - Peach Martini) is trained by Amy MacDonald for Thestable Crantini Group of Guelph, Ont.
The full video stream from Friday's session is available below. Qualifiers resume on Tuesday (June 21) with baby races shifting to a Friday-Saturday schedule for upcoming weeks.
To view the results from the Friday qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).