Trainer Greg Peck had just finished winning the 2009 Hambletonian with Muscle Hill when he pronounced that his personal 'Operation Hambletonian 2010' would be all about the talented Yankee Glide colt Holiday Road. Today, during the qualifying session
at the Meadowlands Racetrack, Holiday Road recorded his first charted line of the season.
With regular pilot Brian Sears calling the shots, Holiday Road got his season underway in fine form, as he trotted a wire-to-wire mile in 1:56.1.
The duo started from Post 2, hit the top, cut the fractions in :28.2, :57.4 and 1:27.3 before coming home with a :28.3 final quarter. The margin of victory was nine and half lengths.
Holiday Road was solid last year at two, as he won three of six starts and trotted in 1:54 to win the $523,600 Peter Haughton Memorial at the Meadowlands on Hambo Day.
Earlier this season, Peck discussed Holiday Road with Trot Insider. The conditioner talked about the colt's freshman campaign and how he had been coming back this year.
It is a newer trend in the standardbred racing industry that horses have been going some very fast qualifying miles over the past couple of years. This morning's qualifying mile by Shark Gesture was no exception.
Fresh off a victorious 1:48.4 mile in the final of the Graduate Series at the Meadowlands on May 15, Shark Gesture stepped on to the track this morning for Race 9 at the New Jersey oval.
In rein to driver George Brennan for trainer Larry Remmen, Shark Gesture started from Post 6 this morning and hustled to the opening quarter in :26.3. Continuing to charge down the backside with a :27.4 second quarter, Shark Gesture hot the half-mile pole in a very snappy :54.2. Putting in a :27.4 third quarter, Shark Gesture tripped the three-quarters timer in a blazing 1:22.1. Saving his fastest quarter for last, Brennan continued to lay down the speed with a :26.1 final quarter.
The win time was 1:48.2 and the margin of victory was no less than 17 and a half lengths. The time is the fastest qualifying mile in the history of standardbred racing.
The multiple stakes-winning Shark Gesture has won 22 of 69 career races and has banked more than $2.1 million in his career.
The previous record for the fastest qualifying mile ever (1:49.1) was recorded by Lis Mara on April 19, 2007 at the Meadowlands.
To view the charted results from the Meadowlands' qualifying session, click here.
Trainer Ronnie Maclean went on the record last week as saying that he has had to utilize his patience with trotter Zorgwijk Kingpin due to the three-year-old being thrown off schedule. Maclean's patience proved to pay off this morning during the qualifying session at Mohawk Racetrack.
With trotting specialist Trevor Ritchie at the lines for Maclean, Zorgwijk Kingpin took to the track for Race 5, the final dash of the qualifying session.
Ritchie and the career winner of $244,716 left from Post 5 and were parked in second to the opening quarter in 30 seconds. Once the duo cleared in the second panel, it was lights out for the rest of the field. The field was still in close range by the time Ritchie and his mount clicked of the opening half-mile in 59 seconds, but the lead was more than five lengths at the 1:28.2 three quarters pole. Cruising home with a :29.3 final panel, Zorgwijk Kingpin would go on to win by 15 lengths in 1:58.
"He was good. He's a better horse if he can chase a little bit, and there was nobody up front that was going enough," Ritchie said during an interview afterward with the Woodbine Entertainment Group. "We wanted to go a decent mile. When he gets up front he can get a little bit lazy, so I had to chase him a bit, but he trotted well."
Maclean explained last week that he is pointing Zorgwijk Kingpin to the Goodtimes Stakes, which will start off with eliminations on June 19 at Mohawk.
In rein to driver Trevor Ritchie for trainer Dan Creighton, three-year-old Angus Hall filly Angostura was much the best for her connections to kick off the session in Race 1.
Putting in what was her first charted line of the 2010 racing campaign, Angostura left from Post 4 and made every call a winning one, as the bay trotted to an eight-length victory clocked in 1:57.3.
"I was pretty happy with her. She was very strong and went a mile in 1:57.3 and behaved herself," Ritchie explained to WEG. "Her manners can sometimes get in the way, but today they were good."
Angostura was one of the handful of horses that was affected by the 2009 implementation of the Ontario Racing Commission rule which mandated that drivers have a line in each hand at all times during a race.
Although Angostura was not allowed to contest the rich finals of the Peaceful Way Stakes last year, the filly still put a respectable 2010 season together, one in which she won five of 10 races, banked $186,664 in purses and trotted victoriously in 1:56.1, which came during a division of the Champlain Stakes.
The second race of the morning docket saw Down Under performer Awesome Armbro N put in his first charted mile over North America ground.
In rein to driver Luc Ouellette for co-owning trainer Isaac Waxman, Awesome Armbro N left from Post 7 and also went wire to wire, as the eight-year-old Armbro Operative gelding paced to an eight-length win in 1:53.3
Awesome Armbro N is a winner of 19 races in the southern hemisphere that last year triumphed in the consolation of the Inter Dominion Pace. The gelding is the third New Zealand horse to join Waxman's barn, along with Scapa N and Linatawa N. Awesome Armbro N was a direct import from Down Under, as he left Auckland on May 23 for his long flight to North America.
Last season's Ontario Sires Stakes Two-Year-Old Pacing Filly Super Final winner FBS Terror made her 2010 charted debut in Race 4 for trainer Mario Macri and driver Scott Zeron.
Having gotten away sixth from Post 3, Zeron and the daughter of Western Terror were first-over in the second quarter and were three-high at the third call. Coming home with pace, Zeron and FBS Terror came home with a :27.4 final panel, but finished second by a half-length, covering their mile in 1:56.1. The duo of driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Jeff Gillis triumphed in the dash with another three-year-old Western Terror lass, Athleticlyinclined, who also came from off the tempo.
Macri spoke with WEG afterward and offered some insight on FBS Terror's mile this morning and how she has been as of late.
"We're trying new things. She wasn't really happy with the earplugs today, so I don't think we'll be wearing them anymore," said Macri. "She's coming off three weeks since her last good mile. I think she'll be a lot better next week."
In terms of FBS Terror being scratched out of a scheduled qualifying tilt a few weeks ago, Macri explained that he expects the filly to be better in a qualifier next week in which he hopes she paces in 1:55 or 1:54.
"Yeah, this start [she] was coming off some antibiotics, so I'm pretty sure that she'll liven up quite a bit next start."
To view the charted results from Mohawk's qualifying session, click here.