A Friday morning (May 14) session of qualifiers at The Meadowlands featured a number of notable performances, but the most eye-catching efforts came from a pair of talent trotters.
The fifth qualifier of the morning was the most notable, as the exasperating trotter Beads etched his name into harness racing's record books with a qualifier in 1:50.2. Off fractions of :27.2, :55.1 and 1:22.4, the four-year-old chugged home in :27.2 nearly six lengths better than a seasonally debuting Ready For Moni (Jimmy Takter), who was sneaky good in a mile individually timed in 1:51.3.
The mile was the fastest qualifying mile for a trotter in harness racing history, and also gives Beads a share of the title of fastest Canadian-sired trotter ever along with the late, great Arch Madness. Trained by Per Engblom, Beads (Archangel - Nepentha) lowered his lifetime mark by a full second with the qualifying effort. Buckstone Land Livestock of York, Penn. hold the papers on the seven-time winner who -- if he minds his manners -- looks to be a force in the upcoming Graduate Series.