INNISFIL, ON — Georgian Downs fans will witness a small slice of history on Saturday night when the half-brother to multi-millionaire Invitro makes his Ontario Sires Stakes debut in the second of three Gold Series Eliminations.
“He’s a lot like his sister. He’s well gaited, he likes to race, he’s well mannered,” says Gord Irwin, who bred, owns and trains Bigtime Ball. “But he’s different than she is too. She’s a little more hard to get along with at times, while he’s just a perfect little horse.”
A late bloomer compared to his famous sister, Bigtime Ball did not make his racing debut until April 30. However, the son of Presidential Ball and Keystone Trinidad started things off on the right foot with a 1:54.4 victory in the non-winners of one race contest at Woodbine Racetrack. Since then the gelding has logged three more victories in six starts, the fastest in 1:51.2, and Irwin hopes the novice pacer continues to progress through Saturday’s test.
“If he progresses nicely, he could be a real nice horse,” says the Cobourg resident. “The big difference between him and Invitro; she’s already got the money in the bank.”
Bigtime Ball and driver Paul MacDonell will start from Post 6 in Saturday’s fifth race, facing off against a field of eight that includes four colts who started in the Gold Series season opener at Western Fair Raceway on June 22, two that competed in Grassroots action at Western Fair on June 1, and two others who will make their provincial debut at Georgian Downs this weekend.
“I think he’s pretty handy, but Paul always drives him well within himself, so I’m not really concerned about post position,” says Irwin. “Paul is just tremendous to work with and very good with a young horse. He’s a big asset to me.”
After Bigtime Ball’s debut this spring, Irwin and MacDonell roughed out a general course of action for the young pacer, opting to skip the Gold Series season opener over Western Fair’s half-mile. Instead, the gelding heads to Georgian Downs off a three-week hiatus.
“We felt they would throw two :26.4 quarters at him on the half-mile track, and that is a little hard on them starting out,” explains Irwin. “So we decided to go an easier route.”
Prior to his mini-vacation, Bigtime Ball was a 1:52 winner at Mohawk Racetrack on June 17, and delivered a 1:53.3 effort in a June 8 qualifier that was the result of miscues in divisions of the May 23 Flamboro Breeders Stake at Flamboro Downs and the June 2 Burlington Stake at Mohawk.
“Young horses prove themselves over time,” notes the veteran horseman. “I just take it one day at a time. I went through it with Invitro, you can only go one race at a time.”
So Irwin’s eyes are currently fixed no further than Saturday’s Gold Elimination, where Bigtime Ball will need a top three performance to return to the July 14 Gold Final.
The top three colts from each elimination, Races 1, 5, and 7 on Saturday’s 7:35 pm program, will earn a return invitation to Georgian Downs for the $130,000 Gold Final.
For complete entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/egeodfsa.html