A pair of top trotters on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit came back from layoffs this morning during the seven-race qualifying session at Mohawk Racetrack in Campbellville, ON.
Armbro Continental and Texas Photo, both of whom have recorded victories in WEG Open classes this season, stepped onto the course for Race 5 this morning -- a dash which had a reduced field of five after a pair of scratches.
After having left from Post 2 and taken a pocket ride through the :30.2 opening quarter and :59.4 half-mile, the Jody Jamieson-driven Armbro Continental assumed control of the tempo before the 1:29.2 three quarters. Trotting home with a 29-second final panel, the six-year-old Stephen Bossence-trained gelding opened up lengths on the field, eventually posting a four and a quarter-length victory in 1:58.1.
With Chris Christoforou in the race bike for trainer Keith Klages, Texas Photo started from Post 3 and kept that position through the first three calls. The six-year-old gelding trotted his final quarter in :29.1 and finished second, covering his mile in 1:59.
Armbro Continental's start this morning was his first since a tough mile September 20 in the $728,000 Maple Leaf Trot over Mohawk. The son of Garland Lobell has received a reduced amount of starts this year, a season removed from a campaign in which he raced to a record of 8-6-1 from 16 starts, good for over $228,000 in purses.
After having put in many of his '08 starts earlier this season, Texas Photo has received some well-deserved time off in recent months. Before this morning, the son of SJs Photo hadn't raced in a pari-mutuel since June 9 or a qualifier since June 16. Texas Photo was as solid as they came during the '08 campaign, where he started 21 times, compiled a record of 7-2-7 and banked $191,590.
Other victorious horses on the Friday qualifier card included Sierras Image (2:00.1), Real Nice (1:56.4), Scottish Cross (1:59), two-year-old Artiscape filly Shes A Fan (1:57.4), Victory Streak (1:56.4) and Sexy Grin (2:01.4).
To view the charted lines, click here.