Monday morning proved to be ‘Miller time’ for trainer Tom Fanning during Gaitway Farm's qualifying session for two-year-olds.
Fanning trainees won four qualifiers, three with driver Brett Miller at the lines and one with David Miller. Fanning’s four victories were the most of any trainer in the 14 qualifiers for two-year-olds. Ron Burke and Chris Ryder were the only other conditioners with multiple wins, with two apiece.
Brett Miller captured a total of five races with the two-year-olds, while David Miller had three and Marcus Miller had two. Mike Lachance also notched two triumphs.
Thirteen of the winning horses were making his or her second trip to qualify. The only debut winner was male pacer Major War, trained by Sam DePinto.
Special Package, a female pacer, was the fastest of Fanning’s winners. A daughter of Western Terror-Tootsie J, she won in 1:57 over a track labelled ‘good.’ The filly is a full sister to Shock It To Em, who won a division of the Keystone Classic last year and the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Stallion Series final.
Fanning’s other winners were male pacers My Spirit Soars and Betting Exchange and female pacer Macs Secure.
Betting Exchange (Bettors Delight-Cheeky Hanover), a half-brother to 2009 Battle of Waterloo winner Wellthereyougo, won in 1:59. My Spirit Soars (Bettors Delight-Sealed In My Heart) won in 1:57.2 and Macs Secure (McArdle-Secure Hanover) won in 1:59.
Ryder won with male pacer B Well and female pacer Amazing Phrasing.
Amazing Phrasing (Art Major-Amazing Marker) won in 1:56.1. Her dam is a full sister to three-time Dan Patch Award-winning female pacer Loyal Opposition. B Well (Well Said-Ms Amanda B) won in 1:58.2.
Burke’s winners were male pacer Old Man Cleary and female pacer Bettor N Better.
Old Man Cleary (Art Major-Ready To Win) won in 1:56. His dam is a stakes-winning half-sister to 2006 Tarport Hap division winner Bikini Bottom. The family also includes millionaire mare Anniecrombie and her millionaire son Nob Hill High. Bettor N Better (Bettors Delight-Vanite Semalu) won in 1:56.3. She is the first foal out of Vanite Semalu, who was a standout in Quebec in the mid-2000s.
Female trotters Champagne Taste and Tuscanellie were second-time winners at Gaitway.
Tuscanellie (Andover Hall-Ornellaia) won in 1:59.3 for trainer Donna Marshall. Champagne Taste (Striking Sahbra-CR Mimosa) won in 2:01.3 for trainer Richard Johnson. She is a half-sister to multiple Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund champion Windshield.
Female pacer Single Me (Bettors Delight-Lonesome Day) won in 1:56.2 for trainer Ross Croghan. Lonesome Day was a multiple-stakes-winner and full sister to millionaire mare Cam Swifty. She also is a full sister to 2006 Kentucky Sire Stakes champion Cantors Daughter – the mother of DePinto’s Major War.
Major War (Art Major-Cantors Daughter) won in 1:57.2. He is a half-brother to stakes-winner Brownsville Bomber.
Male trotter Billy Flynn (Cantab Hall-Zeta Jones), trained by Staffan Lind, won in 2:00.3. Bettin Bruce (Explosive Matter-Sister Marcy), another male trotter, won in 2:03 for Julie Miller.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.