The numbers were light in terms of Pepsi North America Cup eligibles this morning during the qualifying session at Mohawk Racetrack. Although, after more than a four-month absence, a Cup-eligible gelding blew away his competition
in the first dash of the morning.
Mighty Me, a Western Hanover gelding which last paced a charted line January 16 in the Snowshoe Pacing Series, rocketed out from Post 2 this morning and instantly opened up lengths on his competition.
In rein to Jack Moiseyev for trainer Robin Furlong, Mighty Me had a 10-length lead at the opening quarter (:28.2), a 15-length lead at the 58-second half, and a 16 and a half-length lead at the 1:26.1 three quarters. The gelding stepped home with a :27.2 final quarter to post a 13 and three-quarter-length victory in a life's best 1:53.3.
After having finished a neck back in second during an opening-leg division of the Snowshoe, Might Me threw in a wire-to-wire performance in the second round of the series, pacing a 1:54 mile from Post 9 on January 9. The gelding cut the fractions in the $47,600 series finale, but would finish up the track in seventh, as he came home with a :31.1 final quarter.
Mighty Me is a full brother to I Zee, a $482,779 earner with a 1:50.2 mark taken over Woodbine. Mighty Me has been rated as an 80-1 shot in Trot Magazine's 2009 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.
Shipps Xpectancy, the Mach Three colt that capped off his freshman season with a neck defeat in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals at Woodbine, put in his first charted line of the campaign.
With Jack Moiseyev in the bike for conditioner John Kopas, Shipps Xpectancy powered to the lead on the final turn and stepped to a one and a half-length victory in 1:54.4. The gelding, ranked as a 36-1 in Trot's spring book, won a division of the Nassagaweya Stakes at Mohawk in 1:51.1, a life's-best clocking.
Click here to view the charted lines from the qualifying session.
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