Baby races once again dominated the card for Monday morning qualifiers at Mohawk Racetrack. Eight trips for the two-year-olds were followed by three for more
experienced racehorses.
Sportswriter, a freshman son of Artsplace–Precious Beauty, turned in a sharp :26.3 closing panel to take the first qualifier by almost three lengths in 1:56.3. He was a winner last week as well in his debut qualifying effort. Casie Coleman trains the young pacer for Steve Calhoun and the West Wins Stable, and Mark MacDonald did the driving. A fast-closing Western Thorn (by Western Terror) was second for Luc Ouellette and conditioner Tracy Brainard.
MacDonald also had the magic hands in the second two-year-old contest, steering Youkeepmehangingon to the wire in 1:58.3, seven and three-quarters lengths ahead of Dusty Drive Thru and driver/trainer Dustin Jones. Youkeepmehangingon is a Tracy Brainard-trained Grinfromeartoear son out of the Western Hanover mare Spaghetti Western. He has yet to make a pari-mutuel start, but has qualified twice before at the Meadowlands under the tutelage of Paul Reid.
Trotters took to the track for the third qualifier, and Look Closer, a freshman Muscles Yankee colt, got the job done for trainer/owner Paula Wellwood, stopping the timer in 2:01.2 under the guidance of Paul MacDonell. A $55,000 purchase at last fall’s Harrisburg sale, Look Closer now has two qualifiers under his belt.
Northwest Hanover, a daughter of Western Hanover out of the Northern Luck mare Northern Sky, didn’t need a compass to find the finish line in the fourth contest. She paced past the pacesetter, Spill The Ink (driven by Claude Cadieux), in the stretch to win in 2:00.1 for Roger Mayotte and trainer Tim Pinske. The effort was a considerable improvement on the unraced filly’s first qualifying try a week ago, when she was ninth in a field of 10.
Juvenile Angus Hall daughter Scottish Starlet delivered the second win of the morning for Paul MacDonell, as a field of nine trotters qualified in Race 5. The Angus Hall daughter overtook fellow Angus Hall offspring Northern Goddess at the three quarters pole and went on to stop the timer in 2:01.2. This was the second qualifying effort for Scottish Starlet, who is trained by Mike Keeling for P C Wellwood Enterprises, Charles Armstrong, and Robert Fasken.
A short field of five pacers went postward in Race 6, after two of the entries were judges’ scratches. Stonebridge Memoir, a two-year-old son of Camluck, surged to a three and a half-length decision in 1:58.4 for linesman Rick Zeron and trainer Stan Atkinson. The comparatively experienced colt has two starts under his belt, and broke his maiden on July 12 at Clinton Raceway, but this was his first taste of the big Campbellville oval.
In the seventh qualifier, trotting specialist Per Henriksen guided his pupil Waldorf Hall to the win in 2:01.2, over the Norse-owned Southwind Wrangler and Torgeir Hagmann. Waldorf Hall, a son of Conway Hall owned by Steve Organ of Aurora, Ont., was a $25,000 yearling purchase at last fall’s Harrisburg sale, and was making his first appearance behind a starting gate.
The final baby race went to Tony O’Sullivan trainee Dance Until Dawn, a two-year-old Artsplace filly owned by the Rumdum Stable of Toronto. She front-stepped through the mile and delivered a :27.2 final quarter to win in 1:58 with O’Sullivan in the bike. It was an impressive first effort for the freshman lass, who had a $37,000 price tag at last year’s Harrisburg yearling sale.
The Mohawk starters then moved on to the first of three qualifiers for more experienced horses. Delcrest Sammyhall, a four-year-old gelded son of Angus Hall, prevailed by a head over Mr Tasty in the initial contest, trotting past the timer in 1:58.2. Larry Small was in the bike for trainer Gord Delaney. Unraced as a two-year-old, Delcrest Sammyhall went winless at three but is beginning to find his groove as a four-year-old, with two wins so far in 2009 from 16 starts. He’s a homebred sent out by the Delcrest Stables of Acton, Ontario.
The perennial Smithsonian, an eight-year-old pacing gelding by Western Hanover, delivered a 1:57.1 effort to win the penultimate qualifier over Ben Wallace trainee Surrealist by one and a quarter lengths. Smithsonian, who has been trained by Kevin McMaster since 2005, is a veteran of 106 starts with over $400,000 earned and a lifetime mark of 1:48.4.
The final qualifier went to Lady Talbot, who held off a hard-closing Make A Promise to deliver the third victory of the morning for Paul MacDonell. Lady Talbot, a three-year-old daughter of Windsongs Legacy, is owned and bred by Karen Carroll of Shedden, Ont. and is conditioned by Mike Keeling. She trotted her mile in 1:58.2, a new qualifying mark for the filly who is winless in seven starts.
Click here to see the charted harness racing results from the Mohawk qualifying session.
(WEG)