LONDON, ON — Western Fair Raceway has assembled an exceptional program of racing this Friday, May 25, highlighted by three eliminations for the Molson Pace and the Gold Series season opener for the highly touted three-year-old pacing fillies.
“That’s an exciting card of racing,” says Dorchester resident John Pentland. “It’s a big event for London, and it’s nice to have some local horses in there with a shot.”
Among the local horses pegged by handicappers to have a shot at success on Friday are Luck Of Michelle and Jan’s Luck, both hailing from Pentland’s Dorchester barn. Two-year-old Ontario Sires Stakes champion and O’Brien award winner Luck Of Michelle makes her sophomore debut from Post 2 in the second $57,875 Gold Elimination, while Jan’s Luck makes her sixth start of the season from Post 1 in the first heat.
After an outstanding freshman campaign — which saw her post nine victories, three seconds and one third in 13 starts for earnings of $689,652 — Luck Of Michelle enjoyed a well deserved winter vacation before resuming training in preparation for Friday’s contest. She heads into the elimination off a pair of winning qualifiers at Mohawk Racetrack.
“She wintered well,” notes Pentland, who conditions Luck Of Michelle for his wife Natalie Pentland of Dorchester and Karen Carroll of Shedden.. “She’s a little bit bigger and a little bit thicker, but she didn’t change much.”
Friday will be the first time this season that the Camluck miss and driver Mike Saftic have seen a half-mile track, a strategy that propelled the pair to a 1:53.3 world record in their first start last season.
“She’ll be fine,” says Pentland, whose early season game plan includes several grand circuit stakes engagements over half-mile racetracks. “She’s a compact thing, she’s handy off the gate, and she gets around the turns real well.”
While Luck Of Michelle more than proved her mettle against the top fillies in North America last season, Jan’s Luck was retired early from freshman competition due to health problems and had to earn her way back into Gold competition.
“She’s definitely been a pleasant surprise. She showed a bit last year, but she never really showed she could be a top horse,” reflects Pentland. “She’s starting to show a lot more now, so the jury’s still out on her.”
Paradoxically, Pentland says any success Jan’s Luck enjoys this year should be attributed at least in part to her superstar stablemate.
“She owes everything to Michelle,” explains the horseman. “She won a Gold Elimination last year and looked like she might be a nice horse, and a lot of years you would have tried to keep her pieced together, but she had a rich stablemate and that made things easier for her.”
In a humorous twist that has evolved into a running joke in the Pentland barn, Jan’s Luck treats Luck Of Michelle with all the deference due a rich relation.
“Jan lets the limelight shine on Michelle,” laughs Pentland. “Remember when we were kids and the Brady Bunch was on, and it was always Marcia, Marcia, Marcia, and Jan kind of sat back? The two of them are kind of like that.”
Natalie Pentland and CJS Stables Inc. of London share ownership on Jan’s Luck, another daughter of Camluck, who heads into Friday’s test off a third-place finish in the Princess Pacing Series Final at Woodbine Racetrack on May 14.
The Pentland stable stars will face off in Races 8 and 9 on Western Fair’s star studded Friday evening program, while the top aged pacers in North America will duel in Races 2, 4 and 5 in Molson Pace elimination action. Post time for the standing room only event is 7:35 pm.
For complete entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/elonfr.html