DRESDEN, ON — Island Zeeker kicked off Sunday afternoon’s two-year-old pacing colt Grassroots event at Dresden Raceway with a very impressive 1:58.4 score from Post 8.
The Albert Albert colt and driver Greg Dustin landed in fifth position through the :28 opening quarter and then fired to the lead around the second turn. Posting fractions of :58.3 and 1:28, Island Zeeker extended his lead with each stride and simply powered away from the field through the stretch to reach the wire seven and a quarter lengths ahead of Cloaked In Glory and Gettin Lucky.
Donald Douglas of Ingersoll bred and owns Island Zeeker, who leapt into second spot in the division point race with the win. The Scott McNiven trainee scored a victory in the Grassroots season opener on July 1 before moving up to try his hand against the top tier colts in the July 10 Gold Series at Woodbine.
Island Zeeker sits behind division leader Passion Lincoln, who scored his third straight win in the eighth race. The Village Jiffy son employed a come-from-behind technique for the first time in his Grassroots career and outsprinted pacesetter Rapid Bairn down the lace to score the 1:59.2 victory by half a length. Armbro Bach was well back of the leaders in third.
Jody Jamieson engineered the victory for his father Carl Jamieson of Princeton and the veteran trainer’s partners Gerald Ross of Downsview, Edward Smith of Mississauga and Brian Paquet of Quebec, QC. The group acquired Passion Lincoln for $14,000 at last fall’s Canadian Classic Yearling Sale and through six starts the young pacer has already returned $29,940.
Im A Lucky Cam posted the quickest victory of the 11 Grassroots divisions, wrapping the Ontario Sires Stakes entertainment up with a 1:58 victory in Race 13. In rein to last year’s top OSS driver Don McElroy, the Camluck son took command of the race before the half and never faced a challenge, coasting home to the one and a quarter length victory over Sweet Fame with Delray Rocket five more lengths back in third.
McElroy piloted Im A Lucky Cam for the leading trainer in the 2002 Sires Stakes program, Robert McIntosh of La Salle and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington. Sunday’s win marked the colt’s first appearance on the Grassroots scene, but it was not his first trip to the winner’s circle. He and McElroy posted a 1:57.1 victory in an overnight event at Hiawatha Horse Park on July 24.
Former Lampman and Johnston Cup winners Reg Gassien and Jim Ainsworth teamed up to score three Grassroots victories on Dresden’s Sunday afternoon program. The pair struck gold for the first time in Race 2 with Sunny Supreme, who paced to a 2:00.4 victory for Sarnia resident Ainsworth and William Boden of Vancouver, BC.
After a brief break to celebrate the victory Gassien and Ainsworth were back in the winner’s circle after Race 4 when Blackstrap eked out a neck victory over favourite St Lads Bazooka, stopping the clock at 2:01. Ainsworth and Boden also own shares of Blackstrap, along with Martwest Racing Stable of Mississauga.
After barely enough time to toast their second winner, the duo were back in front of the track photographer with Whitesand Lord in Race 7. The talented Camluck son was making his first start in the Grassroots after butting heads with the Gold colts in July, and sailed to an effortless 2:01.2 victory for Ainsworth, Boden and Ross Holmes of Ilderton.
The other Grassroots divisions went to Keltic Baron in 2:00.2, Im A Rustler Too in 1:59.2, XLB Joker in 2:01.3, Hy Bert in 2:01.4 and Play For Silver in 2:00.1. The freshman pacing colts make their fourth Grassroots start at Sudbury Downs on Sept. 6.
Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Dresden Raceway on Labour Day Monday (Sept. 1) when the three-year-old trotting fillies roll into town for the highly competitive Grassroots wild card.