DUNDAS, ON — This week the trainers of 64 of the province’s top three-year-old pacers and trotters will be applying their considerable skills to the inexact science of bringing a horse to peak performance in preparation for Friday’s Grassroots Semifinals at Flamboro Downs.
“We raced three in the Sires Stakes and they all managed to get into the Semifinal. Now we’ve just got to finish off strong,” says trainer Edward Hayter, who will harness pacing colts Bend It and Armbro Dane and trotting colt Joey The Jet JT on Friday. “With a little luck, hopefully they’ll all race to their ability, anyway.”
Sophomore pacing colt Bend It heads the Puslinch resident’s trio of Semifinal contenders. The consistent Camluck colt delivered three wins and three seconds in six regular season Grassroots starts and gets the benefit of Post 2 in the eighth race on Friday.
“He’s just a class horse,” says Hayter, who trains Bend It for Victor Hayter of Stratford. “He’s a great big horse, but he’s a trier.”
Jody Jamieson will pilot Bend It on Friday and the trainer says he would love to see the young reinsman find a spot near the front of the eight horse field for the winner of $56,284.
“When you have one of the best horses in the race you’d like to see him on the front or close to it,” says the horseman. “That way you take traffic out of the equation and if he gets beat you can say it was by a better horse.”
Bend It’s stablemate Armbro Dane did not fare as well in the post position draw, getting Post 7 in the third race, which also features the undefeated Banana Joe’s Bar from Post 2 and Albert In The City from Post 4. With the outside post and tough competition, Hayter hopes at least the weather works in the Camluck colt’s favour.
“He suffers from allergies, so he’s better some days than others,” explains Hayter. “He doesn’t mind rain as long as it’s accompanied by cooler temperatures.”
Victor Hayter also owns Armbro Dane, who boasts a record of three seconds and one fifth in five Grassroots starts this season.
Hayter’s final entry on Friday’s $240,000 afternoon is sophomore trotting colt Joey The Jet JT, who makes his bid for a berth in the Oct. 7 Grassroots Championship from Post 1 in the fifth race.
“It’s a good thing he’s drawn inside. Hopefully he’ll have a little luck with how things shake out and get a decent trip out of it,” says Hayter. “He’s not the best in that division by any means.”
Hayter shares ownership on Joey The Jet JT with Neil Markowski of Toronto and Leisha Collins of Port Robinson. The trio watched the Wesgate Crown gelding trot his way to two seconds and three fourths in five Grassroots starts this season.
The other trotting colt Semifinal features the undefeated Indiana Hall from Post 7 and David Furness, who will start Broadway Seelster from Post 3 in the ninth race, says the former Gold Elimination winner will still be the favourite in spite of the outside post position.
“Unfortunately, we drew in with Indiana Hall. He’s in a class by himself,” says Furness, who trains Broadway Seelster for Cambrook Farms of Campbellville. “I hope we get a piece of the pie; it’ll just be a smaller piece, that’s the way I see it right now.”
Broadway Seelster heads into Friday’s $30,000 contest off back-to-back wins in Grassroots action that boosted him to fourth in the division standings.
“This horse will give 100 per cent. That’s what I like about him,” says the Guelph resident. “And he is coming around right now. He’s been racing pretty good lately. We’ll just hope for the best on Friday.”
Grimsby resident Michael Williscraft will also be hoping for the best when Stunning Beauty steps onto the track in the second pacing filly division. The Camluck miss scored a victory at Hanover Raceway on Sept. 9 to earn a spot in Friday’s Semifinal and Williscraft and his partners Paul Henderson of Ancaster, Terry Barnett of Guelph and Gaetan Bono of Laval, QC are hoping she has her game face on again this week.
“She has been a little inconsistent, but she’s got lots of speed,” says Williscraft. “She’s certainly got lots of first quarter speed, so the four-hole should be a good spot for her.”
From Post 4 the Joe Stutzman trainee will battle a tough field that includes division leader Val’s Joanie from Post 1 and the undefeated Prairie Tracker from Post 5.
“The half-mile track won’t hurt her and if it rains, that hasn’t seemed to bother her,” reflects Williscraft. “So as long as she’s ready — and I’m sure Joe will have her ready — she should be okay.”
Post time at Flamboro Downs on Friday is 4 pm and the top three-year-old trotters and pacers will square off in Races 2 through 6 and 8 through 10. The top four finishers from each Semifinal will return to the Dundas oval on Saturday, Oct. 7 for their respective $100,000 Grassroots Championship.
For complete entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdfr.html