Top Hambletonian hopefuls Holiday Road and Lucky Chucky continued to prep for trotting's Holy Grail, the $1.5 million Hambletonian, with qualifying efforts this morning
over the Meadowlands Racetrack.
The Greg Peck-trained Holiday Road stepped to the plate first in Race 2 and went a wire-to-wire mile for driver Brian Sears.
Having left from Post 5, the three-year-old Yankee Glide colt cut the fractions in :28.4, :57.4 and 1:26.4. He kicked home in :27.3 and scooted off to a 10 and three-quarter-length victory in 1:54.2.
The mile was Holiday Road's third consecutive winning qualifier of the 2010 campaign.
Lucky Chucky put his mile in during Race 4 and also produced a large margin of victory for trainer Chuck Sylvester.
With driver John Campbell in tow, the three-year-old Windsongs Legacy colt started from Post 5 and sat second through the opening quarter and half-mile, which were recorded in :29 and :58.4, respectively. Campbell had his charge on the engine by the time the 1:27.2 third quarter timer sprang to life. Lucky Chucky trotted home with a :27.3 final quarter and hit the wire in 1:55, more than 10 lengths in front of his closest rival.
The performance was Lucky Chucky's second qualifying mile of the year.
The last qualifier of the morning saw $1.6 million earner Southwind Lynx record a wire-to-wire win in 1:51.1 for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer George Teague, Jr.
To view the charted lines from the qualifying session, click here.