INNISFIL, ON — After five months of following the Grassroots circuit from one end of the province to the other, Ontario’s top three-year-old trotters and pacers will lay it all on the line in four $100,000 Championships at Georgian Downs on Saturday.
A player in the trotting colt division since the May 24 season opener, Mr Bitter delivered an impressive 1:59.3 victory in last weekend’s Semifinal. “He’s been getting better as the year has gone by,” says driver Stephen Byron. “He’s definitely a lot better now than he was at the start of the year. He’s really matured quite a bit recently.”
That added maturity helped Byron manoeuvre the gelding to last week’s win and the Thornton resident is optimistic that Mr Bitter will be a formidable opponent from Post 2 in Saturday’s season finale.
“I didn’t clear until well past the quarter pole last week and it had no effect on him. He has good stamina and doesn’t seem to mind taking some air,” says Byron. “I’m hoping to use the post position advantage Saturday, because he can leave, and I think if he comes back to the way he raced last week he’ll be awful tough to beat.”
Byron drives Mr Bitter for breeder and owners Alan and Cloah Fair of Ancaster and Alan Fair also trains the winner of $66,856. Schemin N Dreamin captured the other Semifinal and starts from Post 5 in Saturday’s eighth race.
Leading off the Championship evening are the trotting fillies, and fans can expect to see Semifinal winner Raising The Bar leading the charge off the starting gate again this week.
“I fully expect her to race the way she has in her last two races,” says trainer-driver Tom Durand of the filly’s front-end style. “I don’t have too many choices in the matter.”
Raising The Bar sprinted off the wings from Post 6 in the Semifinal and should have an even easier time achieving her desired objective from Post 2 in the sixth race on Saturday. The Angus Hall half-sister to $1.3 million winner Casual Breeze sailed under the wire in 1:59.2, one and three-quarter lengths ahead of P C Dreams and regular season points leader Sno Doubt About It.
Durand also trained Casual Breeze and says that Raising The Bar has virtually nothing in common with her talented half-sibling, especially her racing style.
“The biggest difference racing them is that Breeze had a lot more patience. This filly wants to get at it right off the gate. You don’t have too many options with her,” explains the Puslinch resident, who shares ownership on Raising The Bar with breeder Diane Ingham of Mount Pleasant and his father Ron Durand of Paris. “If she doesn’t get her own way and get out of there she pouts and gets mad.”
The pair will face eight talented challengers Saturday, including the other Semifinal winner, Summerhill Hallie, who will start from Post 5 in the $100,000 Final.
In the pacing filly event, Race 9 on the evening’s program, fans can expect to see Semifinal winner Illusionist looking for control of the pace. Last weekend the Camluck daughter and driver Jody Jamieson sprinted to the front from Post 6 and cruised home to a 1:55.3 score and, with the division title on the line, trainer Carl Jamieson expects similar tactics from the pair in spite of drawing Post 7.
“There were good horses in that race last week that got caught in and didn’t make the Final,” he notes. “She can leave so why not leave and get spotted or go to the front?
“As long as he wins, I don’t care what he does with her,” adds the Princeton resident with a chuckle. “I think she should win it if nothing happens, but anything can happen in a race.”
Jamieson trains Illusionist for John Dragojevic of Nobleton and David Lumsden of Thornhill, who acquired his share of the $215,050 winner from Scott Enman and Larry Cometto after the Semifinal.
Wrapping up the sophomore Grassroots season are the gifted pacing colts and Semifinal winner Island Zeeker will be looking for his fifth straight victory from Post 3. The Albert Albert son has been flawless since the Sept. 21 Grassroots event at Kawartha Downs and trainer Scott McNiven attributes the gelding’s success to a minor change in routine and a growing maturity.
“I’ve been bringing him to the farm for the last couple of months. He comes home for two days after he races and he seems to have sharpened up off of that,” says the Putnam resident. “He’s an all round nice horse, but he’s kind of clicked into gear in the last month.
Jody Jamieson will also drive Island Zeeker and McNiven expects the pair to have a tougher time than they did in the Semifinal, where they cruised up the outside to the 1:54.2 victory.
“He’s been more of a trip horse, but he raced a big mile in the Semifinal. He was basically parked the whole mile,” says McNiven. “This week will be a little tougher, the colts in there are all pretty equal.”
Donald Douglas of Ingersoll bred and owns Island Zeeker, who has accumulated $102,912 through two racing seasons.
Great Expense captured the other Semifinal and will be looking for a third straight victory from Post 6 in the tenth race.
Georgian Downs raises the curtain on its Saturday evening program at 7:30 pm and turns the spotlight on the talented three-year-old Grassroots finalists in Races 6, 8, 9, and 10.