After an 18-race season in which he hauled down multiple stakes and banked $777,000, Breeders Crown winner Betterthancheddar got some well-deserved time off. The son of Bettors Delight ended his hiatus Monday, May 7 at Mohawk Racetrack, as he record his first charted line of the 2012 campaign during the raceway's morning qualifying session.
In rein to Scott Zeron for trainer Casie Coleman, Betterthancheddar participated in the final dash (Race 7) of the morning session.
Opting for a conservative approach from Post 5, Zeron eased the four-year-old off the gate and worked out a three-hole trip through the opening quarter (:28.1) and half (:57.4), which were cut out by O'Brien Award winner Dreamfair Eternal (driven by Jody Jamieson).
Dreamfair Eternal, who was making her second qualifying appearance thus far in 2012, was five lengths the best by the time she clicked off the three-quarters clock in 1:25.4. Zeron had Betterthancheddar out and gunning first over at that point, but still had some real estate to gobble up.
The three-quarters onward proved to be the Betterthancheddar Show, as the bay erased the deficit via a 26-second final quarter and recorded a one and a quarter-length victory in 1:52.4. Dreamfair Eternal finished second, while Pisti (Bill Davis Jr.) finished third.
Earlier in the session, three-year-old Ontario Sires Stakes standout Circles, trotted her second qualifying mile of the year. With Luc Ouellette up for trainer Tommy Andersson, the Majestic Son bay went wire to wire (:29.3, :59.1, 1:29) and posted a two and a half-length victory in 1:58.2.