After an initial qualifier with ideal behaviour, Touchedbyanangel behaved somewhat naughtily for his connections in his first two pari-mutuel appearanaces. The halo was back in place for an impressive qualifier during the 11-dash session on Friday, July 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Driver Doug McNair once again received the call behind the two-year-old on Friday, and Touchedbyanangel (in baseball terms) touched all the bases for a wire-to-wire 1:58.4 score. The brown son of Archangel - Rubys Are Nice scooted home in :27.2 to finish more than five lengths ahead of Tavern OntheGreen (Louis-Philippe Roy) with Landing Day (Tyler Jones) just back in third.
Kyle Fellows trains Touchedbyanangel for Yolanda Fellows of Rockwood, Ont., Blair Corbeil of Leduc, Alta., Mike McAllister of Beaumont, Alta. and Peter Porter of Port Dover, Ont. Those connections shelled out $97,222 at Harrisburg to procure the yearling from breeders Blair & Erna Corbeil.
Thirty Six Red could represent the largest number on a roulette wheel. For Steve Fudge of Erin, Ont. and Paul Davies of Arthur, Ont., Thirty Six Red represents their two-year-old pacing gelding who debuted a 1:56.4 winner on Friday to clock the fastest time among the rookie pacers. Davies sat fourth with Thirty Six Red while Stealofthesentry (Scott Young) and Colnago (Louis-Philippe Roy) chopped out fractions of :29.4, :58.3 and 1:28. Davies swung wide off the far turn to show his charge some open road, and Thirty Six Red spun home strongest through a :27.4 final quarter to win by more than two lengths over Mandestiny (Jody Jamieson) with Colnago next across the wire.
A son of All Bets Off - Tantalizing Trish, Thirty Six Red was bred by Fudge and he retains part ownership with trainer / driver / co-owner Davies.
Of note, sophomore pacer Crack Shot sharpened for a return to action with an impressive 1:55 effort — home in :26 and 10 lengths the best — for driver Doug McNair, trainer and co-owner Gregg McNair and co-owners Dale Hunter, Frank Brundle and George Kerr.
An O'Brien Award finalist in 2022 turned top class trotter, Safe Conduct made his first appearance of 2025 — and first charted line since last December — a successful one for trainer Camilla Christoforou and owners Irvann Holdings Inc. and Charalambos Christoforou. Driver James MacDonald guided the six-year-old son of Archangel - Safekeeping to a 1:57 score over pacesetter Caballero (Bob McClure) with Hambletonian elimination-bound Emoticon Legacy (Roy) next across the wire.
The full video stream is available below.
For results from the qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).
(Standardbred Canada)