A mixed session of qualifiers on Friday, July 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park featured both older performers and a handful of two-year-old qualifiers through an eight-dash card.
There were five dashes just for the rookies, with Brigade faring well in his debut to clock the fastest mile of the morning among the freshmen. After inheriting the lead from a fractious Snowport (Gino Toscani) through a :28.2 opening quarter, driver Sylvain Filion accepted a pocket ride once again when Control Rocks (Tyler Jones) sought control down the backside. After middle splits of :58.4 and 1:28, Control Rocks fronted the field turning for home but Brigade bolted from the pocket to take over in deep stretch. The timer was tripped by Brigade in 1:56.3, with Control Rocks three parts of a length in arrears.
A $60,000 Lexington yearling bred by Diamond Creek Farm, Brigade (Always B Miki - Fine Art) is owned by trainer Kevin Benn of Napanee, Ont., along with Leo Fleming of Campbellville, Ont., and Dennis Chadwick of Napanee, Ont.
The full video stream from Friday is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).
(Standardbred Canada)