INNISFIL, ON — Ontario’s talented two-year-olds have cleared the first hurdle on their way to Grassroots stardom by qualifying for Saturday evening’s Semifinals at Georgian Downs. Now the youngsters face an even bigger test, finishing in the top four and advancing though to the Championship round next weekend.

“We are hoping that they can race well and get into the Final and then get a good chunk,” says owner George Millar, who has a starter competing in both $30,000 pacing colt Semifinals. Wingandaprayer goes out in the lead off spot for Millar Farms on Saturday, starting from Post 6 in the eighth race, while homebred Mythic Voyage gets Post 7 in Race 9.

“They are both nice colts. We are kind of happy with the pair of them,” says Newmarket resident Millar. “They raced well last week in Peterborough, and they raced well the week before.”

Wingandaprayer heads into Saturday’s test off a pair of wins in Grassroots action, the last a 1:55.4 deadheat at Kawartha Downs on Oct. 1. The Grinfromeartoear son wrapped up the regular season with three wins, one second and one third in five Grassroots starts, tied for fourth spot in the standings with his stablemate Mythic Voyage, another son of Grinfromeartoear, who scored two wins, two seconds and one third in his five Grassroots outings.

Of the pair, Mythic Voyage’s success came as the biggest surprise to Millar and trainer Robert Atkin of Mount Albert.

“Probably a half dozen times in the spring I said to my trainer Bob Atkin, �I think we should turn this colt out,'” recalls Millar. “At one point I even worried if he’d be quick enough to qualify. We trained him down with the fillies and he had a hard time keeping up, but when we put him on the starting gate it was like he woke up. He won his second qualifier in 1:58 and we looked at each other and said, �Where did that come from?'”

While Mythic Voyage’s success has come as something of a surprise to his connections, Dave Tingley and Hans Mueller were fairly confident that Oaklea Oaks had talent; they did not want to hurry her along. As a result the trotting miss has just two starts under her belt heading into the post season, Grassroots wins at Grand River Raceway on Sept. 23 and Hiawatha Horse Park on Oct. 1.

“It was more or less her own timetable,” explains Mueller. “She came along, but Dave didn’t want to push her and I agree with that fully.”

Oaklea Oaks will aim for a top four finish from Post 8 in the second race and the Barrie resident admits he is concerned about the impact of the outside post on the novice trotter.

“Really we don’t know what the bottom of the filly is yet,” say Mueller, who shares ownership on the filly with Guelph resident Tingley. “She won by four (lengths) the last one, on a five-eighths track as well, but Post 8 is tough.”

Midhurst resident Keith Jones will also harness a trotting filly in Saturday night’s Semifinal contest, sending Incredibly Elegant after a top finish from Post 3 in the first race. Jim McClure will steer the trotter for the second straight week and Jones has encouraged the veteran reinsman to replicate the 2:03.1 win he engineered at Hiawatha Horse Park last weekend.

“As long as he does the same thing he did last week; the same results would be good,” says Jones with a wry chuckle. “Last week when I asked if he would drive her and he said he would, I said, �I think she needs a win to make the Semifinal,’ and the win got her sixteenth.

“She’s a nice filly, and she’s pretty honest. She’s not big, but she trots big.”

Jones trains the Incredible Abe daughter for Morris Feldman and Serge Moalli of Saint-Lazare, QC, John Jones of Kirkland, QC and Linda Moalli of Les Cedres, QC. The horseman’s other starter on Saturday night is also an Incredible Abe offspring. Sovereign Way will make his bid for a Final berth from Post 3 in the second trotting colt Semifinal, Race 10 on Georgian Downs’ 7:35 pm program.

“We’ve got the Incredible Abe’s figured out hopefully,” says Jones, who also trains $1.3 million winning Incredible Abe son Abbey Road C for owner George Charlton of Utopia.

Sovereign Way captured two Grassroots events in mid-season and then battled a mild virus that took the edge of his performance, but Jones says the young trotter seems to be back on his game after a fourth-place finish in the last regular season contest at Georgian Downs on Oct. 1.

“He just didn’t seem like himself there for a while,” notes Jones. “He’s just starting to come back to himself now.”

All 64 trotters and pacers will be looking for a top four finish in their respective divisions, which are featured as Races 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10. A top four finish will see the freshman contenders return to Georgian Downs for the lucrative Grassroots Championship next Saturday, Oct. 15.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

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