Top ranked North America Cup eligibles Ammo and Confederate, who finished 1-2 within a half-length in last year's Breeders Crown, met up for the first time this season to open Tuesday morning's (May 2) qualifying session at Harrah's Philadelphia.
Ammo was making his second qualifying start in preparation for his sophomore stakes campaign off a 1:53 runner-up debut at The Meadowlands on April 22 and the Joe Holloway trainee led the way, setting fractions of :27, :56.3 and 1:22.4 en route to a 1:51 win with season-debuting Confederate on his back throughout the mile. The pair finished well ahead of the six-pack, with Trumpster Blues next best, 13-1/2 lengths in arrears.
David Miller drove Ammo to the victory, which was one-fifth of a second off his lifetime mark taken in the $810,000 Breeders Crown last October at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Ammo, a winner of nearly $500,000 with two wins from seven starts, is among the top 10 ranked Cup contenders, assessed at odds of 12-1, in
TROT Magazine's Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book. The Sweet Lou-Beach Gal colt is owned by Val D Or Farms and Ted Gewertz.
Diamond Creek homebred Confederate, a Sweet Lou-Geothermal son just shy of the $500,000 earnings mark himself, is now trained by Brett Pelling and retained the services of driver Tim Tetrick for his first qualifying mile this year. He is the top choice at 4-1 in the Spring Book after going five-for-seven and taking a 1:49.2 lifetime mark in last September's Kentucky Championship Series final at The Red Mile.
Pelling also sent out the $300,000+ winning son of Somebeachsomewhere, four-year-old Greatest Ending, who won his second qualifier of the season by 10-1/4 lengths in 1:53.1 with Todd McCarthy in the bike.