MacIntosh students shine in Thursday Qualifiers

MILTON, May 28, 2020 – The first of several upcoming qualifying session at Woodbine Mohawk Park took place Thursday, as a total of 11-races were contested.

All of Thursday’s action saw male pacers primarily in the spotlight with trainer Blake MacIntosh’s students grabbing most of the glory.

MacIntosh sent out four sophomore winners during the session, with two of his winners eligible to the Pepsi North America Cup eligible.

On the heels of a standout rookie campaign, Groovy Joe delivered a strong 2020 debut with a 1:53 victory in the seventh-qualifiers for the duo of MacIntosh and driver James MacDonald. The son of Roll With Joe circled to the lead heading to the half and proceeded to finish off his mile with a :26.2 final-quarter (:54.4 back-half) to win.

Groovy Joe had a tremendous rookie season, racing primarily in the New York Sires Stakes program. The MacIntosh student won seven of 10 starts and never finished outside the top-two. His final start of the season was a runner-up finish in the NYSS Championship to complete his campaign with $230,845 earned. He is eligible to the Pepsi North America Cup.

The other ‘Cup’ eligible of MacIntosh’s to win was Beach Blanket Book, who successfully converted off a two-hole trip from driver Doug McNair to win in 1:52.3. The son of Sportswriter was charted with a :26 final-quarter.

Beach Blanklet Book won two of 12 starts as a rookie, including a leg of the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold division. He also won an elimination of the Battle of Waterloo and competed in the final of the $750,000 Metro Pace, earning $116,028 on the season.

MacIntosh’s quickest win of the morning came from three-year-old colt A Positive Hanover, who stopped the clock in 1:51.4. The son of Captaintreacherous and reinsman MacDonald were coast-to-coast winners, posting a :54.3 back-half and :27.1 final-quarter.

A Positive Hanover went two for eight last season, testing the Grand Circuit waters at the end of the year, which included finishing third in a division of the Bluegrass at The Red Mile. He made $25,334.

Not to be left out, Bettors Delight colt Sixfingerfreddie won the first qualifier of the day for McNair and MacIntosh. The sophomore colt won convincingly by over seven-lengths in 1:56.2 (final-quarter :27.3). The season debut is a strong start following a winless rookie campaign, in which he earned $16,714 in 11 starts.

Q REPORT ?

Our first of several upcoming Qualifying Sessions took place Thursday morning and trainer Blake MacIntosh (@BlakeMacracing) had his 3-Year-Olds ready to go, posting 4️⃣ wins on the morning. #BetWoodbineSB pic.twitter.com/4ZuwuiIHNt

— Woodbine – Mohawk Park (@WoodbineSB) May 28, 2020

Here is a breakdown of the other winners on Thursday morning.

Q2: Day Delight (1:55)…three-year-old son of Bettors Delight was a coast-to-coast winner for driver Trevor Henry and trainer Victor Puddy, just holding off a late-push by Rob Fellows trainee Lous Delight.

Q3: Unique Beach (1:55.4)…three-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere brushed to the lead in the second-quarter and left his rivals behind to win confidently for driver Chris Christoforou and trainer Tony O’Sullivan.

Q4: Better Take It (1:54.4)…the best finish of the morning saw Bob McIntosh trained three-yer-old Better Take move to the outside from sixth at the half, grind up on the far turn and dig in down the lane for driver Henry to muscle by multiple rivals. Matt Dupuis trainee Poseidon Seelster just missed pulling off the wire-to-wire score, finishing second by a neck. The top-five were separated by just under two-lengths.

Q5: Captivate Hanover (1:54.3)…the Shawn Steacy trained three-year-old posted a strong :26.3 final-quarter to come from third at the head of the lane for a narrow victory over McIntosh trainee Sundown Kid. MacDonald guided the winner.

Q9: Beaumond Hanover (1:54.1)…last year’s Harvest Series winner delivered a strong three-year-old debut by going coast-to-coast on top for a two-length score over OSS Gold winner Aneto. Jack Darling trains Beaumond Hanover, who was four for five as a rookie. He delivered an easy-looking :26.2 final-quarter for driver Jody Jamieson.

Q10: Muscle Mach A (1:51.4)…the new Carmen Auciello student and driver Jonathan Drury posted a 10-length score in his North America debut. The seven-year-old gelding last raced in mid-February in Australia.

Q11: Uptown Funk (1:52.4)…another Auciello trainee to post a 10-length score. The five-year-old gelding and Drury took off on rivals early, opening up a 20-length lead and pacing :26.4 third-quarter before coming home in :30.

Qualifiers continue Friday morning at Woodbine Mohawk Park with three-year-old pacing fillies and older pacing mares in taking over. Post time is 9:30 a.m. The qualifiers can be streamed live on www.Woodbine.com/Mohawk/WMP-Qualifiers/.

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