INNISFIL, ON — Ontario’s talented three-year-old trotting colts make a second visit to Georgian Downs on Tuesday evening to wrap up their Grassroots regular season.
With 16 spots in the Grassroots Semifinal at stake, the trotting colts sitting on the edge of the current point cut off will be going for broke, including John Bax trainee Sno Goal. With 48 points earned from one second, one fourth and three fifth-place finishes, the Balanced Image son could leap into the post season with a big effort in the sixth race.
“He’s been kind of a hard luck horse this year,” says Bax. “He hasn’t come back as good as he was last year and when we get him on the right track he gets in an accident or he gets sick.”
The Balanced Image son, who earned $79,117 as a two-year-old, delivered his best effort in the Sept. 7 Grassroots event and then was involved in an accident in an overnight event at Woodstock Raceway on Sept. 20. He was back in the Grassroots at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sept. 26, but then missed a Kawartha Downs overnight on Oct. 4 due to sickness.
“He came out of the accident pretty good, banged up the bike and the driver, but he was okay,” says the Peterborough resident, who shares ownership on Sno Goal with Brilo Farms of Sharon, Goin To The Show Stable of Peterborough and Kenneth James of Acton. “And he might not be 100 per cent this week, but his temperature is good and his nose is cleared up.”
Sno Goal and driver Steve Byron will lay it on the line from Post 6 in the sixth race Tuesday, which Bax says will should not impact the youngster’s come-from-behind style. The pair will face division leader Mr Garjangles from Post 5 and local favourite Northern Legend, owned by Mardon Stables of Loretto, from Post 7.
In addition to Sno Goal, Bax will also harness Parkhill Zzar in the gelding’s second attempt at the Grassroots program this season.
“He’s been improving and we thought he was at a point where he’d be competitive in the Sires Stakes,” says Bax. “He actually didn’t show that well in Ottawa, it was kind of disappointing. I’m not sure whether to blame it on three hours in the trailer or that he isn’t good enough. I’m hoping it was the trip.”
In the Sept. 26 event at Rideau Carleton the Mr Lavec son could only manage a seventh-place effort for Bax, Goin To The Show Stable, Lewis Palmer of Oshawa and John Houston of Cobourg, but Bax hopes the shorter trip to Georgian Downs will help the colt deliver the kind of performance he put together in a 1:59. 1 runner-up effort at Kawartha Downs on Sept. 6.
“He’s a great gaited horse and I think he’ll come around, but he’s kind of immature mentally,” explains the veteran horseman. “He’s kind of like that four-year-old kid who acts like they’re two sometimes.”
Byron will send Parkhill Zzar after a share of the $19,800 Grassroots purse from Post 1 in the eighth race, facing off against two-time Series winner Tyrone Dillon from Post 3.
Georgian Downs fans will watch the first Grassroots division parade onto the five-eighths oval at 7:30 pm on Tuesday with the other three-year-old trotting colt battles occurring in Races 4, 6, 8, and 10.