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>The Meadowlands Racetrack and Mohawk Racetrack each held massive qualifying sessions on Friday, June 27, meaning that returning starts and budding prospects were in abundance under perfect racing conditions.


Stars were aplenty during the Meadowlands’ session, which kicked off with races for two-year-old trotters. Trainer Jimmy Takter won the first two races.


Race 1 at the Meadowlands saw the two-year-old Muscle Hill-Unbelievable colt Falk On Hill S win for Takter in 2:01 off a :28.3 final quarter. The colt was bred in Sweden by Goran Falk, who retained ownership and sent the bay to the U.S. over the winter. Nunkeri, from the first crop of Lucky Chucky, was a good second beaten just a half length. Morcredit Blue Chip was third.


Takter sent the $300,000 Muscle Hill-Cressida Hanover colt Canepa Hanover out with purpose in Race 2. Yannick Gingras put him on the lead through the half and then stepped on the gas, resulting in long, powerful strides from the colt around the bend in a :27.4 third panel. He eventually won by 18 lengths in 1:56.1. Canepa Hanover is owned by the partnership of Brittany Farms, Marvin Katz, Brixton Medical and Al Libfeld.


Ake Svanstedt cut the mile and won Race 3 with another Muscle Hill colt, this one a $60,000 Harrisburg yearling out of Cream Puff by the name of Stonebridge Force. He set a leisurely tempo – three quarters in 1:33.4 – before sprinted home in :27.2 for the 2:01.1 win. Sarrasso, Inc. and Laseur, Inc. share ownership.


Pacing fillies came along next and a pair of Rock N Roll Heaven fillies was out strutting their stuff. Heaven On Earth, trained by Scott Di Domenico and driven by Tim Tetrick for Triple D Stables won a stretch duel with Hollyrocker in 1:56.4. She was a bargain $10,000 purchase at Lexington. A few races later, Zip Code Envy won her third straight qualifier for the Takter/Gingras combo – this time it was from off the pace in 1:56.1 with a final quarter of 27.1. Sawyer was second and American Truth third. Zip Code Envy cost $27,000 in Kentucky last fall.


Tony Alagna sent out a couple of nice colts Friday morning, the first is a homebred Rocknroll colt from Cosmo Blue Chip for British client Tom Hill named Rock On The Hill who scored a 1:56.3 front-end win with Tim Tetrick aboard. He looked sharp in his second appearance and held off Manny In Sports through a rousing stretch drive. Alagna came right back with Artspeak, a Western Ideal colt out of The Art Museum who garnered a winning bid of $100,000 from Brittany, Katz, Joe Sbrocco and In The Gym Stables at Lexington last fall. Artspeak, with Scott Zeron driving, won in 1:56.2 with a :26.4 closing quarter.


Royalty For Life qualified again Friday morning and looked stronger this time, as he led all the way and won in 1:53.2 for driver David Miller. His sights are set on next Saturday’s $450,000 Hambletonian Maturity for trainer George Ducharme and owners Al Ross, Ray Campbell Jr. and Paul Fontaine.


Bee A Magician qualified next and put her best hoof forward. She cut the mile and won off by herself in 1:53.1. She closed with a :26.3 final frame under no encouragement from driver Brian Sears.


A mini-Meadowlands Pace was next in Race 11 and JK Endofanera made a statement that he is clearly the horse to beat heading into next week’s eliminations. He strolled along on an easy lead through three quarters in 1:25 and then jetted home in :26 to win by a couple of lengths in 1:51 with Sears motionless in the bike. Lyonssomewhere could not gain from the pocket. National Debt finished third.


Shebestingin wrapped the day up with a 1:51 gate-to-wire win.


At Mohawk, horses aged three years old and older kicked off the session.


Race 1 was won by three-year-old Donato Hanover gelding Fashion Tagman, who came from off the tempo to score a five and a quarter-length victory in 1:57.2 for driver Anthony MacDonald and trainer Carmen Auciello. Race 2 saw the Bob McIntosh-trained and Randy Waples-driven three-year-old Rocknroll Hanover gelding Account Rollover go gate to wire from Post 1 and record a 1:54.3 win by more than nine lengths. Millionaire Alsace Hanover was tops in Race 3 for trainer-driver Tony O’Sullivan, as the six-year-old gelding by The Panderosa cruised to a six-length win in 1:58.3. Like A Prayer gelding Prayer Session won Race 4 for driver James MacDonald and trainer Tony Montini, as the five-year-old recorded a four-length win in 1:56.3.


The rest of the qualifying session was exclusively f