O’Brien Award winner Run Director resurfaced last week with a 1:57.4 mile at Woodbine Mohawk Park and came back to the track this week to record a faster time in the last of five qualifiers on Tuesday (June 29).
Leaving from post 8, driver Sylvain Filion sent Run Director to the point and cleared control from Free Willy Hanover past a :28.3 first quarter. The six-year-old son of Kadabra then cruised through a :57 half and to three-quarters in 1:26.3 before opening on his competition in the straightaway. He strode past the beam 6 3/4 lengths better than Free Willy Hanover to stop the clock in 1:55.2. Nimbus Deo rallied to finish third, another four lengths behind, with Sheena Solider fourth.
The homebred for Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin made his most recent pari-mutuel start on Sept. 14 of last year, finishing fifth in the Preferred Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park. His penultimate start came in the $560,000 Maple Leaf Trot, where he finished seventh to Atlanta. A winner of 14 races from 44 starts and $630,870, Run Director currently races for conditioner Shane Weber.
The full broadcast of the qualifying session is available below:
To view Tuesday's qualifying results, click on the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifier).