Pacing colt Alliance and trotting filly R Liza headlined the two-year-old winners during a mixed qualifying session of 10 races on Tuesday morning (July 11) at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Trained by Dan Lagace, Alliance led through fractions of :31, :59.3 and 1:28 while keeping the unraced three-year-old Premier Surefire at bay en route to a 1-1/4-length victory in 1:56.4. Making his third qualifying start, Alliance was the fastest two-year-old winner of the morning. Premier Surefire held on for second over two-year-olds Kountry Diamond and Supplemental Fee.
A $45,000 yearling purchase from the Lexington Select Sale, the Always B Miki colt out of the Grand Circuit stakes-winning mare Allstar Rating is owned by W. J. Donovan, Elizabeth Jones, Craig Henderson and Joe Sbrocco. He was bred by Diamond Creek Farm.
The winning qualifier was 25-year-old Brady Lagace's first charted mile in the driver's seat.
The Susie Kerwood trainee R Liza topped the two-year-old trotters with a 1:59.1 winning debut.
Driven by Jody Jamieson, R Liza gave way to the parked out Ally Baba after a :30.1 opening quarter and followed in the pocket through middle splits of :59.3 and 1:29.2 before retaking the lead at the head of the stretch and trotting off to a 2-1/2-length score with a :29.3 final quarter. Moonshine Memories and Mactacular finished second and third while Ally Baba was fourth.
Bred by Kentuckiana Farms, the Muscle Mass filly is the first foal out of the unraced Yankee Glide mare Wishimaywishimight, a sibling to winners of more than $1.2 million. R Liza was also a $45,000 Lexington yearling and is owned by M And L Of Delaware and Alabama Harness Associate.
To view Tuesday's complete qualifying results, click the following link: Tuesday Results (Qualifiers) - Woodbine Mohawk Park.
A replay of the qualifying session is available below.