ELORA, ON — Grand River Raceway caps off an exciting Ontario Sires Stakes season with six Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old pacing fillies on Friday evening.

With the Grassroots Semifinals just one week away, competition will be fierce among the fillies hovering near the cut off for a berth in the post season, and trainer Murray Brethour hopes Val’s Joanie can add a few more points to her tally from Post 3 in the second $17,591 division.

“It helps when you draw a good hole on a half-mile track,” says Brethour, who trains Val’s Joanie for Paul Lindsey of Fergus and his mother Grace Brethour of Sunderland. “And she can get around a half good, she’s pretty handy that way.”

After five Grassroots events Val’s Joanie has a record of one win, one second, one third and two fifths for a total of 93 points. She heads into Friday’s event off a fifth-place finish in the Sept. 15 Grassroots event at Hiawatha Horse Park and Brethour admits he has spent the last two weeks trying to perk the Presidential Ball daughter up in preparation for the final regular season event.

“She’s a nice little filly, but she was maybe a little better at the start of the year. She’s maybe getting a little tired now,” says the Sunderland resident. “I’ve been trying a couple different things to try and freshen her up.

“I just don’t know whether she’s good enough any more. They go so quick now,” he adds.

Among the changes Brethour made was the removal of a hood the filly had worn since before her June 21 qualifier at Kawartha Downs.

“She used to wear a hood, but I’ve got that off her now,” he explains. “She’s a little more relaxed than she used to be. She used to get fired up, but now she’s starting to relax.”

Jim McClure will pilot Val’s Joanie on Friday evening and the pair will have their eyes peeled for the undefeated Tyme Seelster from Post 1 and three other fillies currently ranked among the Top 16. Pacific Yankee will start from Post 4 for trainer Darren James McCall of Guelph and Richard Thompson of London, Luck Out gets Post 2 and Jakes Cam will start from Post 6.

Division leader Teacher Supreme will be looking to preserve her flawless record in regular season action with a fourth Grassroots victory from Post 4 in the first division.

Grand River Raceway’s last Ontario Sires Stakes event of the 2005 season gets under way at 7:27 pm on Friday, with the talented two-year-old pacing fillies warming up the Elora oval in Races 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/egrvrfr.html