O'Brien Award winner Jimmy Freight made an appearance at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday morning (August 2), and the millionaire pacer looked impeccable.
With Louis-Philippe Roy aboard, Jimmy Freight made every call a winning one against his four less experienced rivals, hitting the opening quarter in :30.1 before opening up down the backside in a :59.4 half. The tempo picked up from there as Jimmy Freight uncorked a :54.1 back half and :26.3 final panel to cruise under the wire some 16 lengths the best in 1:54.
Richard Moreau trains Jimmy Freight (Sportswriter - Allamerican Summer) for Adriano Sorella of Guelph, Ont. The four-year-old is coming off a bang-up fourth-place finish in the 2019 Gerrity Memorial at Saratoga, with sights set on a trip to Indiana for the 2019 Dan Patch at Harrah's Hoosier Park in one week's time.
After a solid debut, rookie pacing colt Manlicious had a couple of less-than-optimal outings for trainer and co-owner Dr. Ian Moore but the son of Malicious was on his best behaviour in the opening baby race of the Friday session. Moore sat in the pocket with Manlicious behind Last Mach (Sylvain Filion), who appeared to be pacing strongly on the lead until encountering some sort of trouble at the halfway point of the mile and making a break. Manlicious inherited the lead at that point, pacing straight through the wire and under no urging to trip the timer in 1:58.4.
Moore co-owns Manlicious (Malicious - Azure Bluestone) along with Reg Mac Pherson of Stratford, PEI and David Silliphant of Fredericton, N.B. The group purchased the horse as a yearling for $13,5000 at the 2018 Atlantic Classic Yearling Sale.
Pacing filly Marzannk Hanover made an impressive debut, closing strongly in the lane for driver James MacDonald to pick off pacesetter Miss Katie Claire (Sylvain Filion) and Chrissys Girl (Doug McNair) in 1:58.
Kevin McMaster trains Marzannk Hanover (Mach Three - Monte Carlo Madam) for Darryl Newbigging of Komoka. Ont. She was a $9,000 Harrisburg yearling.
The connections of trotting filly She Started It will be pleased with her effort in the third baby race of the morning. Driver Bob McClure placed She Started It on top early, yielded to Golden Gavel (John Bax) at the half and sat patiently until finding a seam in the lane. With clear racetrack, She Started It exploded with trot in the stretch and won by two lengths over a hard-closing Ltmeatcake Hanover (James MacDonald) in 2:00.4.
Rod Hughes trains She Started It (Kadabra - Jayport Sweetheart) for Ryan Clements' Bright Future Racing of Uxbridge, Ont. Clements paid $16,000 for the yearling, sold as Jayport Luba, at last fall's London Selected Yearling Sale.
To view the results from Friday's qualifying session, click the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers).