DUNDAS, ON — Beechwood Duchess heads into Saturday’s Gold Eliminations at Flamboro Downs off a pair of solid performances against the province’s top three-year-old pacing fillies and trainer Jared Bothwell is hoping that momentum will carry her through the last four Gold events of the season.
“I’d love to see her stay with the Golds,” says Waterdown resident Bothwell. “The Grassroots are just on the small tracks now and I’d like to keep her on the big track as long as she’s competitive there.”
Beechwood Duchess started her sophomore season off at the Grassroots level, scoring a win in the season opener at Quinte Exhibition Raceway in Belleville on May 22. She ran into some trouble over Western Fair Raceway’s half-mile oval in the second Grassroots event and was placed back to sixth from fourth for causing interference, but bounced back with a third-place finish at Georgian Downs in the third event on June 27.
In between her Grassroots engagements the Albert Albert daughter scored a 1:52.4 personal best at Woodbine Racetrack and amassed a record of two wins and four thirds in nine starts. That consistency and the filly’s work ethic convinced Bothwell to give Beechwood Duchess a crack at the July 21 Canadian Breeders Championship Eliminations at Mohawk Racetrack and the filly responded with an impressive third-place finish.
“It was pretty surprising, because the start before (July 13) we had to scratch her because she tied up a little bit on us, nothing major, but we didn’t want to make it worse,” says Bothwell, who shares ownership on Beechwood Duchess with Annemarie Colville of Waterdown and breeders R A W Equine Inc. of Mississauga. “So she raced really well.”
In the July 29 Canadian Breeders Final Beechwood Duchess and driver Jack Moiseyev finished seventh, five lengths behind winner Red Star Biggirl in a track record 1:50.3 mile.
“That’s how the race went,” says Bothwell philosophically. “But we didn’t hurt her and she had a real good week, she’s feeling good, that’s why we put her back in with them at Flamboro.”
Beechwood Duchess will make her Gold Series debut from Post 5 in the second of three $38,096 eliminations and Jack Moiseyev will return to the race bike for the second week. While he would prefer to race the leggy filly on a larger oval, Bothwell does not expect her to have any problems over the Flamboro half mile.
“She won over Belleville earlier in the year and she’s won at London. She’s very sure gaited. She’s a big filly, but I think she’ll be all right,” he says. “I think with any kind of a trip, covered up or second over, she’ll be all right. She usually sprints home good if we don’t use her early.”
Beechwood Duchess and Moiseyev will need a third-place finish to advance through to the Aug. 12 Gold Final. Among the fillies they will face on Sunday are former Gold Elimination winner Don’t You Smile from Post 1 and two-time Grassroots winner Southwind Madonna from the outside Post 7.
“They are a nice bunch of fillies and there’s not just one or two of them, there are a whole bunch,” says Bothwell. “As long as she’s competitive and she can go with them, then we’ll be happy.”
Flamboro Downs sends its first race behind the starting gate at 4 pm on Saturday, turning the spotlight on the three-year-old pacing fillies in Races 2, 5, and 9.
For complete entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsa.html