CAMPBELLVILLE, OCT. 22, 2001 — Breeders Crown three-year-old trotting colt champion Liberty Balance returns to Ontario Sires Stakes action at Mohawk Racetrack on Friday evening. The Balanced Image son will put his championship form and his seven-race win streak on display from Post 7 in the first race at the Campbellville oval.
After capturing two consecutive Gold Eliminations and Finals, and a division of the Simcoe Stake, owners Thomas and Elizabeth Rankin of St. Catharines opted to pay the $45,000 fee to make Liberty Balance eligible to the Oct. 13 Breeders Crown eliminations. Easily disposing of the competition in round one, the colt moved on to the Oct. 19 Final and delivered another impressive 1:55 performance to lay claim to the North American title.
Pat Hunt trains Liberty Balance for the Rankins and says the enormity of the win took some time to sink in.
“I didn’t treat it as a big race going in. I didn’t train him any different or anything,” says the Cambridge resident. “But it felt pretty big after the race, when it really hit home.”
The gelding, who now boasts earnings of $802,607, enjoyed two days off after his Breeders Crown triumph but was back at work Monday in preparation for Friday’s Gold Elimination.
“He came out of it real good. He ate good and was running around in the field the next day,” says Hunt. “And I jogged him today (Monday) and he was good.
“I probably won’t train him this week. I may go one slow trip with him, but we’ll see. I never train him heavy, he has it pretty easy through the week.”
Regular driver Randy Waples will send the gelding after his eighth straight victory from Post 7 on Friday, in what is also the rubber match between Liberty Balance and his Gold Series rival Bionic Ballad. Both colts sport two Elimination wins and two Final wins and are separated by just 21 points in the Super Final standings.
Bionic Ballad will attempt to halt Liberty Balance’s win streak from the trailing Post 11. Mike Saftic will drive the Royal Ballad son for trainer Budd Thorne of Fergus and owners Alana Toth of Sudbury and Earl Lennox of Orton.
Ten of Friday’s contestants will return to Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday, Nov. 3 for their last $100,000 Gold Final and one week later the top 10 point earners will be back in Campbellville for their $250,000 Super Final.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT SANDRA SNYDER AT 519-656-2017 (TEL./FAX) OR smsnyder@sentex.net.