INNISFIL, ON — June 21 may be the first day of summer, but harness racing fans know the season has really begun when the first two-year-olds make their way to the racetrack.
This year Georgian Downs will play host to the first stakes event for Ontario’s freshman, offering up three Trillium Series divisions for two-year-old pacing fillies on Tuesday night as proof that the dog day’s have truly arrived.
Most of the fillies head to Innisfil fresh out of qualifiers, including Willis Jones trainee Lovin Grace. The Albert Albert daughter logged a runner-up finish in a June 19 qualifier at Flamboro Downs, but Jones expects she will be sharper for Tuesday’s contest.
“She qualified all right, but she had been sick so she was a little weak that day,” says the Innisfil resident. “She was good all winter and does everything right, but I suppose there will be some others better than her.”
Jones trains Lovin Grace for John Grinton and Gerald Kocela of Barrie and Randy Zhok of Innisfil and his son Keith will pilot the filly from Post 6 in the seventh race on Tuesday night.
“She’s got pretty good gate speed so I�m not worried about Post 6,” says Jones. “It’s Posts 7, 8 and 9 that are tough.”
The only concern Jones has for Lovin Grace is that her size may impact her ability on the bigger racetracks over the course of the summer, but if she succeeds on Tuesday she will get an opportunity to travel the province with the rest of the Ontario Sires Stakes stars.
Three-time Johnston Cup winning trainer Jim Ainsworth is hoping that Machfour Par Tees will also fall into the OSS star category after Tuesday night. The Sarnia resident has been impressed with the filly so far and hopes she can deliver a solid effort from Post 6 in the fourth race.
“She looks like she is going to be a good one,” says Ainsworth. “She’s been good for a few months now.”
Machfour Par Tees heads to Georgian Downs five-eighths oval off a third-place finish in a June 13 qualifier at Hiawatha Horse Park. Ainsworth’s father Larry of Petrolia, Martwest Racing Stable of Mississauga, Ross Holmes of Ilderton and Claude Pearson of Tilbury own the Camluck filly.
Of the 20 fillies set to compete in Tuesday’s Trillium Series event, Warrawee Emma boasts the quickest credentials with a 1:58 mile in a runner-up effort on June 20 at Hiawatha. Daryl Roberts trains the Dexter Nukes lass for Cheryl Roberts of Ingersoll and Rasa Roberts of London and Mark MacDonald will make the trip to Barrie to drive the precocious youngster, facing off against Lovin Grace from Post 3 in Race 7.
Racing excitement gets under way at 7:30 pm at Georgian Downs, with the two-year-old pacing fillies set to make their provincial debuts in Races 1, 4 and 7 on Tuesday night.