INNISFIL, ON — Over the last five months Ontario’s top three-year-olds have battled their way through six Grassroots events with one goal in mind, a berth in Friday’s Semifinal round at Georgian Downs.
“We’ve raced for it all year,” says John Lockie of Zephyr, whose three-year-old pacing filly Lasensa will start from Post 2 in the tenth race.
With 150 points earned through two wins and two seconds in four Grassroots starts, Lasensa finished the regular season in a two-way tie for sixth-place. Bred by Zephyr residents John and Allan Lockie, the daughter of Astreos and $160,094 winner Tarport Sensation heads into the Semifinals on a three-race win streak, including an impressive victory from the outside Post 7 in the Sept. 25 Grassroots event at Dresden Raceway.
“We finally drew a decent post. We’ve had about three seven’s in a row so we’re pretty happy about the two-hole,” says Lockie, who entrusts trainer Jason Libby with the filly’s daily care. “Although I think we are in tough enough. There are a lot of good fillies in there. You have to respect them all.”
Among the fillies that Lasensa and driver Greg Dustin will face is Borderlinegorgious, the winner of the two-year-old Grassroots Championship last season. Borderlinegorgious will start from the outside Post 8 in Friday’s $30,000 Semifinal.
“There are eight in there figuring they are going to win, so some of us are going to be disappointed,” adds Melvyn Varcoe, whose homebred Queenssuccessor makes his bid for a top four finish from Post 3 in the fifth race.
�It’s always nice to draw inside. As you well know, post position makes a difference,” noted the Thornton resident, who went over to Georgian Downs on Tuesday morning to watch Race Secretary Dave Howcroft make the post position draw. “I just hope he’s having a good day.”
The three-year-old pacing colt heads into his Semifinal off a third-place finish in the last regular season event on Sept. 29 at Rideau Carleton Raceway, but Varcoe says trainer Casie Coleman has indicated that the colt is getting stronger with each start.
“She thinks he’s getting better. We’re swimming him right now,” notes Varcoe, who shares ownership on the son of Presidential Ball and 1998 Grassroots Final winner Runningtobe Aqueen with his wife Catherine. “He’s a nice colt, he was meant to be a decent horse.”
Through five regular season starts Queenssuccessor scored one win, three seconds and one third-place finish for a total of 137 points and a share of tenth spot in the point standings. Among the colts he and driver Trevor Henry will face Friday is Most Happy One, who captured four of five Grassroots starts and will start from Post 6 in Race 5.
Trotter Ja El Abe’s connections are also confident their charge is heading into his Semifinal test on an upswing after the gelding recorded a third-place finish in the Sept. 29 event at Hiawatha Horse Park, his first flawless race since Aug. 6.
“The last few months have been a little rocky with him. He was struggling quite a bit on the turns,” recalls trainer Brad Shakes. “He was just maybe not 110 per cent on Thursday (Sept. 29), but I expect him to be a little better this week.”
Shakes owes his renewed confidence in Ja El Abe to an innovative lameness detection program offered at Humber College, a complete make-over of the colt’s footwear and a new piece of equipment. Technicians at Humber found a spot on the gelding’s right hind ankle that was bothering him, blacksmith Steve Hill completely changed the trotter’s shoes and Shakes acquired a pair of trotting boots that protect Ja El Abe’s hind legs from ankle to hock.
“We were getting close to the Semifinals and we needed one more third or something at Sarnia to get him in over the hump,” says Stayner resident Shakes. “With everything we’ve done with him, he’s just as fresh now as he was at the start of the year. He’s feeling really good.”
Shakes and the gelding’s owners, Joanne Morrison of Beeton, Paul Shakes of Stayner and Mac Galbraith of Durham, will be holding their breath on Friday until Ja El Abe and driver Michael Langdon navigate the first turn, then the cheering will begin in earnest.
“If he makes the first turn he’s usually really good,” says the young horseman. “If he makes the first turn I expect him to make the Final. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t.”
All 64 horses headed to Georgian Downs on Friday have the same objective, to earn a ticket back to the Innisfil oval for next Saturday’s Grassroots Championships. Only the top four finishers from each Semifinal will advance to their division’s $100,000 season finale.
Post time at Georgian Downs on Friday evening is 7:35 pm, with the top sophomore trotters and pacers in the province heating things up in Races 2 through 7, 9 and 10.
For a complete list of entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/egeodffr.html