WOODSTOCK, ON — Last winter Brent Belore was not sure if Ballykeel Mike would be competitive on the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit, but heading into the fourth Grassroots event of the season this Saturday at Woodstock Raceway, the two-year-old trotting colt has become a poster boy for the adage �small, but mighty.’

“He’s a little colt. He’s not very big, just a pony,” says Embro resident Belore. “He was always a nice trotter; his size kind of scared me, but he’s overcome that.”

Ballykeel Mike made his racing debut in the Grassroots season opener at Dresden Raceway on July 22, scoring a fourth-place finish in spite of a late break. At Flamboro Downs on Aug. 5 the son of Earl and Frost On The Gate finished second in his Grassroots division, and he currently sits fifteenth in the race for one of 16 spots in the Oct. 20 Semifinal.

Coming off a fifth-place finish at Mohawk Racetrack in an Aug. 26 overnight, Ballykeel Mike will be looking to boost his point tally from Post 4 in the first race on Saturday’s matinee.

“That’s probably about the best spot with a green trotter,” says Belore, who trains the diminutive colt for breeders Ballykeel Racing of Tillsonburg.

“We’ve been taking it easy with him, we just didn’t want to get him hot, but I think if I wanted to he could leave. You never know, I just might,” adds the trainer-driver with a chuckle.

Among the colts that Ballykeel Mike will face in the first $16,819 Grassroots division are three that made their provincial debut at the Gold Series level; Abe Linkin will make his bid for a second Grassroots win from Post 1, Smedshammer gets Post 2 and Nesta will be aiming for a second Grassroots win from the difficult Post 7. Working in Ballykeel Mike’s favour may be his size, both colts with Grassroots wins scored them at the five-eighths mile Georgian Downs, and his familiarity with the Woodstock half-mile.

“We’re only 10 minutes from Woodstock,” notes Belore, “So I’ve taken him in there and trained him — in the springtime before we qualified him — a few times.”

With his last start coming just six days before Saturday’s battle, Ballykeel Mike will enjoy a week of easy jogging. Although the colt can get a little wound up on race day, Belore says he is relaxed almost to the extreme at home.

“He’s very easy on himself around the farm. You have to pack a lunch when you go out to jog him,” jokes the horseman.

Belore will be working to keep the colt relaxed and happy heading into Saturday’s first race, which gets under way at 1 pm. The two-year-old trotting colts will also entertain Woodstock Raceway fans in Races 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.

For complete entries please go to:

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