SUDBURY, ON — On Saturday morning trainer Daryl Roberts will load up his trailer and head for Sudbury Downs with a trio of contenders in the two-year-old pacing filly Grassroots division.
Heading Roberts’ string is division co-leader Change Of Address, who will be looking for her fourth straight victory from Post 2 in the first Grassroots division. The Die Laughing daughter has been an ongoing surprise for Roberts and her owner-breeder Thomas Lawson of London since her first start in June.
“She was always the weakest of the three, but in the last month she’s really picked it up,” says Roberts. “She’s won her last three and she seems really good from the front end or the back, what ever you want to do with her.”
Change Of Address captured her first Grassroots victory at Elmira Raceway on July 1, added a Trillium Series trophy to Lawson’s collection on July 13 at Woodstock Raceway and pushed her point total to 100 with a second Grassroots victory on July 20 at Georgian Downs.
“He (Lawson) generally sells them all but he didn’t think she’d bring much at the sale so he brought her over in September,” says London resident Roberts. “She’s the first stakes winner he’s ever had, and now she’s won three in a row, so he’s pumped.”
Ray McLean, Jr. piloted Change Of Address to her last two victories and will be on hand to drive all three of Roberts’ fillies on Saturday night. The Ingersoll resident will make his second start of the evening behind Warrawee Emma in Race 5.
Warrawee Emma makes her first start in the Grassroots on Saturday after two disappointing outings at the Gold Series level. After a pair of solid runner-up placings in a June 25 Trillium and the season opening Gold Eliminations the filly has been no closer than seventh as the result of traffic trouble behind failing favourites.
“I decided to try her in the Gold because she was my best one, but she has had no luck,” says Roberts. “In the Gold Final at Woodbine we let favourite Town Jiffy go and she backed us through the field. Then in Ottawa we raced her from the back in the elimination and she never got interested, she finished 35 lengths back, so in the Final I said to Mark (MacDonald), “You better leave with her and race her on the front or near the front.” He let favourite Northern Harmony go and as soon as he let her go she stopped and we couldn’t get out.
“So I said, “This isn’t working, it’s time to go to the Grassroots.””
Roberts wife Rasa and Cheryl Douglas of Ingersoll share ownership on Warrawee Emma, who will start from Post 8 on Saturday night. Roberts is unconcerned about the outside post for the Dexter Nukes daughter, who demonstrated her gate speed from outside posts at Woodbine and Rideau Carleton.
“She’ll just bust out of there and she won’t have to worry about letting the 2 to 5 shot go,” says the trainer. “Hopefully it will braven her up. She’s been beat up pretty bad.”
The final Roberts starter to step in behind the Sudbury Downs gate will be Individual Gal, who gets the advantageous Post 1 in the eighth race. After a slow start to her racing career, Roberts believes the Rustler Hanover daughter is finally rounding into form.
“She is just coming into her own now. She was real tough to get gaited but I think we’ve got her figured out now,” he explains. “I moved her head up a bit and tightened her hopples up. She’s got a different bit in her mouth and last week I put a big shadow roll on her because at Woodstock she was jumping the shadows going into the first turn.”
Roberts shares ownership on Individual Gal with Donald Douglas and John Shepley of Ingersoll and John Kwiatkoski of London, and the partners are hoping the filly can improve on her fifth-place showing at Georgian Downs two weeks ago.
Sudbury Downs sends its first race onto the track at 7:15 pm on Saturday night with the talented two-year-old pacing fillies gearing up for their Grassroots divisions in Races 3, 5, 6, and 8.