FRASERVILLE, ON — Riding a four race win streak, two-year-old pacing filly Epoxy Queen gets her first test against the Gold Series girls in the second of two $40,000 Gold Eliminations at Kawartha Downs on Saturday evening.
“She raced really good her last start,” explains Eric Adams, who conditions the talented filly for owner-breeder Millar Farms of Newmarket, ON. “So we thought we would take a little run at the Gold Series and see how we make out.”
Epoxy Queen heads into her first Gold Series start off a gate to wire victory in an overnight event at Mohawk Racetrack on Sept. 23 that saw her clock a personal best 1:53.2. Among the 14 fillies heading to Kawartha on Saturday, that clocking is second only to former Gold Final winner Lauren, who recorded a 1:53 victory in her Sept. 17 Gold Elimination at Mohawk.
“She definitely looks like she can not look too far out of place with them,” says Adams.
“She’s good gaited, she has good gate speed. That helps, she can get out of there pretty good and get spotted,” adds the trainer. “And she is clean gaited. She can get over any size track; she’s handy.”
Adams was not always so complementary about the daughter of Camluck and $125,642 winner Tropicana Chris. On June 28 the horseman drove Epoxy Queen in her first qualifier, and the trip around the Grand River Raceway oval was not a memorable one.
“I actually drove her when we qualified her at Grand River, and she was a little funny,” recalls Adams. “She didn’t like the gate, she was looking at things, she was just a little funny.”
The filly had spent the winter in trainer Gregg McNair’s barn, and the Guelph, ON resident qualified Epoxy Queen two more times before sending her out in a July 26 elimination for Grand River Raceway’s Battle of the Belles Stake, where she finished fourth. One week later the filly delivered a second fourth-place result in the Battle of the Belles Consolation and owner George Millar opted to bring her home to his Newmarket farm, where Adams handles the training duties.
Aug. 11 marked the filly’s Grassroots debut, and in her third outing over the Grand River oval she made a late miscue and finished second by a neck to Pindars Grin. On Aug. 19 Epoxy Queen made her first visit to the winner’s circle off a 1:54.4 mile in an overnight event at Mohawk, and since then she has been flawless, picking up two more Grassroots trophies and clocking her personal best last week.
“She’s pretty professional about the whole thing now,” says Adams. “And good to work around here at the farm too. She’s a pleasure to have around.”
Adams has been delighted to have his first impressions of Epoxy Queen turned on their head, and says there is very little to fault about the filly at the mid-point in her freshman campaign.
“She’s a nice size, not too big, but she’s got a good body to her, she’s well proportioned,” he notes. “She’s just well rounded — well mannered, good gaited, gate speed, she’s just handy.
“You never know when you are working with them how they’re going to turn out but� she did.”
Woodville, ON resident Brad Rae, who engineered Grassroots wins for the filly at Kawartha Downs and Clinton Raceway returns to the race bike on Saturday, steering Epoxy Queen from Post 3 in the fourth race. Division point leader Lauren will line up to her right at Post 4 and Battle of the Belles winner Village Janus gets Post 5.
The first Gold Elimination is slated as Race 3, and features reigning Gold Final champion Monkey On My Wheel from Post 1.
Kawartha Downs sends its first race onto the racetrack at 7 pm on Saturday evening, with all eyes turning to watch the two-year-old pacing fillies in Races 3 and 4. The top four finishers from each elimination, plus one fifth-place finisher chosen by random draw, will return to the Fraserville oval on Saturday, Oct. 9 for the second last $130,000 Gold Final of their season.
To watch all of Epoxy Queen’s previous Ontario Sires Stakes starts click: Epoxy Queen
For complete entries click: Kawartha Downs Entries — Oct. 2, 2010