TORONTO, ON — A total of $2.4 million is on the line at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday evening as the province’s top trotters and pacers converge on the Toronto oval for the Ontario Sires Stakes program’s Super Final Night.
After an outstanding season that saw her capture four of five Gold Finals, pacing filly St Lads Popcorn will be aiming to polish her two-year-old campaign off with a Super Final title from Post 5 in the fifth race.
“She’s been amazing,” says trainer and owner Jack Darling of Cambridge. “I just keep waiting for her to get tired, but she hasn’t.”
St Lads Popcorn and regular reinsman Jason Brewer captured the first Gold Final at Flamboro Downs on July 18 in an Ontario Sires Stakes record 1:53.3, and wrapped up the regular season with a 1:55.3 track record at Western Fair Raceway in the Nov. 8 Gold Final. In between, the Twin B Champ daughter amassed a record of nine wins, one second and $412,323 in earnings through 12 starts.
“She’s just one of those horses that’s always a good feeler. She likes training and jogging,” notes Darling. “We just try to keep her as happy as we can.”
Darling conditioned Twin B Champ through his $437,235 career, trained the filly’s mother Hot Butter until an injury sent her to the breeding shed at St Lads Farm, and also trained Hot Butter’s sire Northern Luck to $907,974 in earnings, so the success St Lads Popcorn has enjoyed this season has resonated deeply with the veteran horseman.
Last fall at the Forest City Yearling Sale Darling encouraged many of his peers to take a look at St Lads Popcorn, but no one followed his advice, so the trainer was able to scoop the filly up for just $5,000. Matching his stake payment investment to the filly’s purchase price, Darling only kept St Lads Popcorn eligible to one event outside the Ontario Sires Stakes program — the Aug. 10 Robert Stewart Stakes where she scored a 1:53.2 victory — but fans can look forward to seeing her tackle a few more stakes engagements next season.
“I’ll probably put her in a couple of the big ones (races) we have right here,” says Darling. “I’ll have to look at the schedule and plan it out.”
Fans can also look forward to seeing more of freshman pacing colt Millionaire Cam next season. Saturday’s Super Final will mark the Million Dollar Cam son’s sixth start, which is exactly how many trainer Tony O’Sullivan and owner Jeffrey Snyder intended the colt to have when they laid out his schedule last spring.
“He came along slowly; I purposely brought him along slowly,” explains O’Sullivan, who also makes his home in Cambridge. “We planned to race him six or seven times.”
Millionaire Cam made his debut in an overnight event at Mohawk Racetrack on Aug. 31, scoring an impressive 1:54.4 victory. Second in another overnight event on Sept. 7, the half brother to former Ontario Sires Stakes stalwart and $1.1 million winner Michelles Power swept through his elimination and the final of the September Gold Series at Mohawk, posting his 1:51.2 personal best in the elimination round.
The talented youngster’s most recent start came in the Governor’s Cup Eliminations at Woodbine on Oct. 18 where he finished fourth by a length off a sparkling :26.4 last quarter.
“He just got away too far back,” explains O’Sullivan. “It’s hard to pace home any faster than he did.”
O’Sullivan says he has logged a few extra training miles with Millionaire Cam in preparation for Saturday’s Super Final, where the colt will go postward from Post 5 in the eighth race with regular reinsman Jody Jamieson in the race bike. Millionaire Cam also qualified at Mohawk on Nov. 7, touring around the seven-eighths mile oval to an effortless 1:53.4 victory.
“I put more work into him that I did for the Governor’s Cup. I trained him a couple of times and he jogs and swims on a pretty regular schedule,” says the horseman. “He’s probably tighter than he was for the Governor’s Cup.”
O’Sullivan and New York resident Snyder are looking forward to watching the colt get back to work against his Ontario-sired peers. There are only eight contenders in the freshman pacing colt Super Final, but they are a talent laden bunch. Division leader and Governor’s Cup winner Nebupanezzar will start from Post 7, Nassagaweya Stakes winner Shipps Xpectancy gets Post 6 and last weekend’s Gold Final champion Shady Cam will be looking for his second straight win from Post 3.
The freshman pacing fillies and pacing colts will battle in Races 5 and 8 on Woodbine Racetrack’s Saturday program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm. The eight Super Finals are featured as Races 3 through 10, with a total of $2.4 million up for gabs by the province’s most talented trotters and pacers.
For complete entries please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/racing/entries/data/e1115wdbsn.dat.