CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Heading into Monday’s $130,000 Gold Final at Mohawk Racetrack, Geoff Maltby is hoping the good fortune Armbro Approach has had from Post 5 lasts through one more week.
The three-year-old trotting colt has drawn Post 5 on two other occasions this season and landed in the winner’s circle after both races. He captured the July 26 Canadian Breeders Championship at Woodbine Racetrack from Post 5 and was an easy winner in last week’s Gold Elimination from the five-hole.
“Let’s hope he can repeat,” says the Acton resident, who trains Armbro Approach for the Jeff Miller Stable of Haviland, OH.
Miller, who conditions pacing supermare Eternal Camnation, sent the colt to Maltby last May to prepare for the Ontario Sires Stakes season and Maltby’s initial assessment of the Mr Lavec son never indicated he would be a contender in a $130,000 race.
“He seemed like an all right colt, but he was having trouble with two minutes,” explains the trainer. “He had some muscle soreness through his back.”
As a result Armbro Approach did not see Sires Stakes action until July 3 when he captured a Grassroots division at Hiawatha Horse Park in 1:57 and earned his way into the Canadian Breeders. Since then the young trotter has been on a continuous improvement curve that Maltby attributes to a variety of factors.
“We had Dr. McMaster shockwave him over his back around the first of July and that did seem to help him. Since that point in time he has been getting a little better,” says Maltby. “And around that time he reached out over the stall door and grabbed a banana out of my girlfriend’s hand and now we feed him six bananas a day. So we don’t know if it was McMaster’s vet work or feeding him bananas.”
Growth, maturity and a rigorous training schedule have been the other factors contributing to Armbro Approach’s record of three wins, three seconds and one sixth in the seven starts since July 3.
“He seems to really respond to being trained, contrary to most horses,” says Maltby. “Three days out it’s not uncommon for me to go around 2:00 with him. This week I’m not, but for his next race (Oct. 16) I will.”
Mike Saftic qualified Armbro Approach for the Final, but also drove Snoops Bytes to a runner-up finish behind JM Vangogh and will pilot that colt on Monday. As a result Trevor Ritchie will pick up the lines behind Armbro Approach for the first time since July 3.
“Trevor drove him twice for me before, he was third once and won in Sarnia, and Trevor is God on a trotter,” says Maltby. “He drives a lot of horses for me, when I can get him, and he knows the horse and gets along with him.”
The duo will have their eyes peeled for JM Vangogh from Post 6 and last year’s division champion Meadowview Sunny from Post. 2 in the fifth race on Mohawk Racetrack’s 7:40 pm Monday program.