Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted an eight-race qualifying session on Tuesday morning (July 23), four of which were dedicated to two-year-olds.
Dart Guy (Muscle Mass – Whitesand Electra) smoked through the homestretch in Race 1, as the Doug Brown-driven two-year-old closed from third to hit the wire first. The gelding, owned by Home Stretch Holdings Inc. (of Rockwood, Ont.), had sat third through the fractions (:30.2, 1:01.2, 1:31.4) and was four and a half lengths in arrears at the top of the lane. Brown got the Jerry Duford trainee into gear in the lane, and the duo got up to post a half-length victory in 2:02.3. The mile was the second qualifying effort for the youngster and his first win.
After having been almost 14 lengths off the engine in Race 2, the Ben Baillargeon-trained freshman Northern Sultan (Royalty For Life – Dover Miss) trotted first-over on the turn and opened up daylight on his rivals. Mario Baillargeon was at the colt’s controls and went on to guide the bay to a 2:02 victory. The winning margin was eight and a half lengths. The morning mile was the third qualifying effort of Northern Sultan’s career and his first victory. The bay is a homebred by Northfields Farm Inc. (Meaford, Ont.).
In Race 3, Remembering Shorty (Sportswriter – Machet Rocket) raced third through the fractions (:30.2, 1:00, 1:29.3) and got up to record a half-length win in 1:58.2 for driver Sylvain Filion and trainer Murray Brethour. The freshman colt is now a perfect two for two in qualifying action. Remembering Shorty is a homebred of the Noblock Racing Stable (Collingwood, Ont.).
The last of the morning’s two-year-old qualifiers headed to post for Race 4, and it was the Scott McEneny-trained and Sylvain Filion-driven Lady Natasha (Sportswriter – Maddam Luck) that recorded a gate-to-wire win in 1:57.3. The $15,000 London Selected sale purchase fired from Post 4 and cut the fractions in :30.1, :59 and 1:28.1 before posting a three and a quarter-length margin of victory. The mile was the third qualifying effort and first win for Lady Natasha, who is owned by her co-breeder, Craig Turner (Ingersoll, Ont.).
Four other qualifying races followed. To view the harness racing results from the Tuesday qualifying session at Mohawk, click the following link: Tuesday Results – Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).