INNISFIL, ON — Georgian Downs kicks off its 2005 Ontario Sires Stakes season with nine Grassroots divisions for the three-year-old trotting colts on Tuesday.
Most of the colts made their provincial stakes debut in May at Quinte Raceway, but a number of newcomers have joined the Grassroots ranks for Tuesday’s event, including Brad Shakes trainee Ja El Abe.
“We’ve just been taking our time with him,” says Shakes, who trains the gelding for his father Paul Shakes of Stayner, breeder Joanne Morrison of Beeton and Mac Galbraith of Durham. “He’s come back really, really well this year. He didn’t really grow into his body last year, but over the winter he grew up nice and filled out.”
After qualifying on May 17 the Incredible Abe son finished second in a May 24 maiden event at Georgian Downs and then travelled south to compete in an overnight at Woodbine Racetrack last Thursday. Unfortunately the young trotter landed Post 8 on the Rexdale oval and never saw the rail throughout the mile, finishing well back of the leaders in eighth.
“In his first start he handled Georgian really good, he grabbed the track really good. We were very pleased with his first start,” notes Shakes. “Then at Woodbine we had a bad post and I told Mike to leave with him a little and it didn’t work out. We ended up with a long trip, but he came out of the race okay.”
Ja El Abe and regular reinsman Michael Langdon will start from Post 6 in the second race on Tuesday and Shakes is hopeful the trotter can deliver another solid effort over his local oval.
“He can leave, he’s got a good burst off the gate if you want, but he’s good from behind too,” says the Stayner resident. “And 80 per cent of the time he’s pretty steady, he’s pretty consistent.”
Midhurst resident Keith Jones will harness a pair of trotters in Tuesday’s Grassroots contest and, like Shakes, he thinks consistency will help out both B Cor Brett and Presidents Choice.
“They trained back together and side-by-side I think Presidents Choice is the better horse, but you can’t take anything away from the other horse,” notes Jones. “B Cor Brett was my best two-year-old last year and he seems to get cheques, that’s for sure.”
Last season B Cor Brett earned $10,353 in six starts, while his stablemate picked up $5,520 in four outings. This season Presidents Choice is leading the earnings race with $5,896 banked in three starts compared to B Cor Brett’s $3,593 through four starts.
Both colts hit the board in the Grassroots season opener at Quinte Raceway in Belleville, delivering impressive performances from Post 7. Presidents Choice finished second, just one length behind the winner of the fastest division, and B Cor Brett picked up a third-place cheque. B Cor Brett’s luck improved for Tuesday’s battle and the Berndt Hanover son, owned by George Charlton of Utopia, will start from Post 1 in the eighth race. However, for the fourth time this season Balanced Image son Presidents Choice will not be within hailing distance of the rail, starting from Post 8 in Race 10.
Jones owns Presidents Choice and will drive both colts in their second stop on the 2005 Grassroots tour.
Tuesday’s races get under way at 7:30 pm at Georgian Downs, with the three-year-old trotting colts stepping to centre stage in Races 1, 2 and 4 through 10.
For a complete list of entries go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/egeodftu.html