FRASERVILLE, ON — A second wave of Grassroots stars are headed to Kawartha Downs on Saturday night, led by two trailer loads of freshman trotters from the Henry Stable.

Wayne Henry qualified five trotting fillies and five trotting colts for the two-year-old Semifinal round, and the Arthur resident is hoping the talented youngsters can maintain their consistent form for two more starts.

“They are all holding their weight good and looking good,” says the trainer. “It’s been a bad year for viruses, for whatever reason, so if you can keep them half healthy, you’re all right.”

For the last 10 days Henry and his staff have been working to restore health to the trotting colts after all five delivered lacklustre performances in the regular season finale at Grand River Raceway on Oct. 8. Tests indicated that the young trotters were fighting an infection, so Henry put them on a course of medication in an effort to get them back to fighting trim for Saturday’s Semifinal.

“All their blood came back with high white counts after Grand River,” notes Henry. “Every one we raced. They should be a little better this time I hope.”

First out of the gate from the Henry barn are Smedshammer and White Hot, who make their bid for a top four placing from Posts 6 and 8 in the second race. Their stablemates, division point leader Norwell Incredable, Maples Lucky Boy and Striker Springs, will start from Posts 1, 5, and 6 in the second $30,000 Semifinal — Race 8 on Kawartha’s 7 pm program.

The fillies head into the post season off an Oct. 10 start at Flamboro Downs, and seem to have dodged the sickness that plagued their masculine counterparts. Tameka Seelster, Love Me Tomorrow and Maker A Laker will battle in the first trotting filly split, making their bid for a championship berth from Posts 2, 4, and 8.

Henry calls Tameka Seelster the most consistent among the first group, and demonstrated his faith in the filly by purchasing her Angus Hall half-brother at last weekend’s Forest City Yearling Sale for $32,000.

“She’s been a pretty consistent little filly all season,” he asserts. “She’s just a nice size, and fairly athletic looking actually.”

Fiesty Fergie and Taylorlane Evita round out the Henry Stable entries, making their post season debut from Posts 3 and 6 in the sixth race.

Trainer John Bax of Peterborough will send out a trotting colt and trotting filly against the Henry onslaught Saturday, and says filly Taketwo N Callme will have an easier time in her bid for a top four position from the advantageous Post 1 in the sixth race than her stablemate Dandy Duke will from Post 7 in Race 2.

“She’s fairly aggressive; she’s racy,” says Bax of Taketwo N Callme, who he bred and owns with John Hayes of Sharon and George Grant of Oakwood. “She’s a real big, strong mare. She’ll be better for being on our track.”

Like Henry, Bax says Dandy Duke came up with a lacklustre effort at Grand River Raceway, and he is hoping the Duke Of York son can rebound with a strong start over his local oval. Owned by Glengate Farms of Campbellville, Al Libfeld of Pickering, Marvin Katz of Toronto and Robert Kauffman of Wellington, FL, Bax says the gelding’s best attribute is his attitude.

“He’s honest, I guess that’s the best word. He stays at it, he likes doing it,” says the trainer. “He could have used a better post, running into the good ones, but if he’s on his game he’ll be competitive.”

Guelph resident Gregg McNair will also harness two youngsters in Saturday’s Semifinal round — trotting filly Live In Love will start alongside Taketwo N Callme at Post 2 in the sixth race, while pacing colt Dougs Fame returns to the Grassroots after stepping up to the Gold Series and earning a second in his elimination and a sixth in the Oct. 15 final.

“He was kind of half competitive in there. He didn’t disgrace himself anyway,” says McNair. “We didn’t know what we were going to do with him, because there was another Gold left, but he tripped out pretty good in the final and didn’t get any money, so it wasn’t that hard a decision.”

In spite of his Gold Series success, McNair cautions that the Apaches Fame son he owns in partnership with Ian Fleming of Londesborough is no shoo-in for a top four placing Saturday, especially from the outside Post 8.

Alan Wallace agrees with McNair, emphasizing that every horse in Saturday’s Semifinal is a candidate for the championship and that there are no assurances pacing filly point leader Onyx Killean will be able to extend her Grassroots unbeaten streak beyond five.

“Every race you are ever in, there are always good horses in it. You can never underestimate the competition in any race,” says the native of Dublin, IR, who piloted Onyx Killean in two of her six races for his father Liam Wallace of Troy.

Working in the filly’s favour are her post, she will start from the rail in the third race with trainer Gary Wallace in the race bike, and her attitude.

“She’s the easiest thing in the world to drive,” says Wallace. “And she tries, she doesn’t give in.”

Post time for Saturday’s program of two-year-old Grassroots Semifinals is 7 pm, with the youngsters lighting up the Kawartha Downs oval in Races 2 through 9.

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