WINDSOR, ON — If JM Vangogh can pull off a victory in the $130,000 Gold Final at Windsor Raceway on Sunday evening it will put the icing on the three-year-old trotting colt’s remarkable come back from a devastating fall last October.
Trainer-driver Ron Waples is still unsure why the trotter fell in the freshman Gold Final, but at the time he was fairly confident it meant the end of JM Vangogh’s racing career.
“It looked pretty bad — his one knee and ankle were pretty banged up. In fact, the cut in the ankle was right near the joint capsule and if it had been much further we would have had to put him down,” says the Hall of Fame horseman. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had never raced again.”
Not only has JM Vangogh returned to the races, he has fashioned a sophomore season that ranks him among the best in Ontario. In addition to last weekend’s 1:57.2 Gold Elimination win at Windsor, the Earl colt has three other wins, two thirds and a personal best 1:54.4 to his credit through seven starts.
“He’s come back well beyond my expectations,” says Guelph resident Waples. “He went a tough trip last week. I was sitting in the four-hole there, and with Trevor (Ritchie) moving his colt (Amigo Hall) I didn’t like the spot I was in, so I tried to charge to the top and couldn’t clear and he ended up first up.”
Waples says the tough elimination trip did not seem to affect JM Vangogh, who came out of the race in fine fettle, but noted that the colt will enjoy a lighter work schedule this week in preparation for Sunday’s Final.
“I think we’ll go light on him this week,” says the veteran conditioner. “He went a pretty tough trip, and the week before he went a big mile to win in 1:54.4, so I don’t think he’ll need much in the way of training.”
The pair will take aim on their first Gold Final trophy from Post 2 on Sunday evening, but Waples says the inside post will have no bearing on the trotter’s racing style.
“He’s not a real fast leaver. There’s lots that can beat him off the gate, so he’s got to do his racing at the end of it,” explains Waples, who conditions the colt for Paul Chambers of Harrington, DE and John Mello of Georgetown, MA.
Among the colts Waples will be keeping an eye on are the colt he overtook through the stretch in the elimination round, Blair Burgess trainee Amigo Hall who will start from Post 5, and the runner-up from the other division, Snoops Bytes, who will start from the advantageous Post 1.
“The horse that got the rail (Snoops Bytes) has been getting better and better and Blair’s colt (Amigo Hall) is a nice horse,” he says. “There are a couple other’s in there that could step up and win it, but I think those two are a touch better right now.”
Windsor Raceway sends its first race onto the five-eighths oval at 6:30 pm on Sunday and the three-year-old trotting colts steal the spotlight in Race 10.