Bene Bene, the highest priced Ontario-sired trotter at the yearling sales, earned her first qualifying win as she opened Saturday morning's baby races at Meadowlands Racetrack.
The Kadabra-Pizza Dolce filly was the 2014 Lexington Selected Sale topper, purchased for $400,000 by Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Ont., David McDuffee of Delray Beach, Florida, and Marvin Katz of Toronto, Ont.
Trained by Nifty Norman and driven by David Miller, Bene Bene was positioned fourth through panels of :30.2, 1:00.4 and 1:30.3 before sprinting home in :28-seconds flat to score in 1:59.2. She won her third baby race by one and a quarter lengths over pacesetter Heal The World (Muscle Hill-Angelina Chip), another six-digit Lexington Sale filly.
Bene Bene is a full-sister to Ontario Sires Stakes star Miss Paris (1:54.2 - $865,160) and Bella Dolce (1:54.2 - $730,384).
Top trotters from the Swedish-based Roger Walmann stable -- 2015 Elitlopp champion Magic Tonight and his regally-bred stablemate D'One -- also qualified during the morning session.
Wind Of The North, who finished fifth in the Elitlopp, led the first field of aged trotters through fractions of :27, :56.4 and 1:26.4 with Lindys Tru Grit pulling the pocket and powering home in :26.1 final quarter to prevail by two and a quarter lengths in 1:53 flat for Julie and Andy Miller. In his first North American outing since 2013, Magic Tonight followed in third throughout the qualifying mile, also trotting his final quarter in sub-:27 with Marcus Johansson in the sulky. The six-year-old son of Andover Hall and Self Possessed was bred by Marvin Katz, Toronto, Ont. and Al Libfeld of Pickering, Ont. and was campaigned for three seasons in North America by Noel Daley before being purchased by Ao J Konsult of Sweden and exported.
D One -- a five-year-old daughter of world champions Donato Hanover and Giant Diablo, both with marks of 1:50.1 -- won her first North American qualifier in 1:54.3. Driven by Johansson, D One trotted to the lead from the outside post six through a :28.4 first quarter and continued to front the field through middle splits of :59 and 1:27.2 before coming home in :27.1 to win by three lengths over the rallying First In Flight. D One has banked nearly $900,000 in purses racing overseas.
To view Saturday's full qualifying results, click on the following link: Baby Races / Qualifiers.