HANOVER, ON — Hanover Raceway kicks off an action-packed Ontario Sires Stakes schedule on Saturday evening with three Trillium Series divisions for the talented three-year-old pacing fillies.
Open to any filly owned by an Ontario resident, regardless of where she was bred, Saturday’s Trillium Series is dominated by Ontario-sired fillies. Among the regular Ontario Sires Stakes competitors hoping to earn a share of the $66,894 Trillium purse is Wendy’s Rocket.
Bred and owned by Bloomingwood Farms Ltd. of Harriston and trained by Hall of Fame horseman William “Bud” Fritz of Walkerton, Wendy’s Rocket will make a bid for her first win of the season from Post 1 in the sixth race.
“She hasn’t had any luck with her posts on half-mile tracks, so that (Post 1) is nice for a change,” says Barbara Wells, whose husband Herb is the other half of Bloomingwood Farms.
After capturing the Grassroots Championship and $136,919 at two, Wendy’s Rocket graduated to the Gold Series this season and drew the five and seven holes for the first Gold Elimination and Final at Elmira Raceway, where she finished fourth and sixth. In the June 6 Trillium at Elmira the Pacific Rocket daughter and Fritz found themselves back out at Post 5 and settled for the second-place share. Since then the pair have garnered a trio of fifth-place finishes over Woodbine’s five-eighths oval.
“She’s had eight starts now and she’s there, but she needs another second off her,” says Wells with a chuckle. “But we’re quite happy with her. We’ve been into the breeding since the mid-1990’s and she’s the first one that’s been half decent, so it makes you feel good.”
The Wells’ started going to the races in the early 1990’s with friends who owned claimers. They bought their first horse, Wild Man Dan, in 1992 and soon moved into the breeding side of the business. Their farm is now the home for six broodmares and their offspring, including a half sister to Wendys Rocket who will make her freshman debut on Saturday in Hanover’s first race.
“She qualified last Saturday in 2:04.3, so this is her first start,” says Wells of two-year-old Precious Bunny filly Bunny My Gal. “She looks promising as well, so we’re hoping.”
With both fillies racing at their local oval, the Wells’ will be staking out their spot on the rail early in hopes of making at least one trip into the Hanover winner’s circle.
“Oh yes, we’ll be there with bells on,” says Wells. “We try to get to all the races. It keeps you running in the summer, but it’s fun.”
Among the fillies that Wendy’s Rocket will face in the second Trillium division is Espirit Seelster from Post 2. The Camluck filly heads into Saturday’s event riding a two-race win streak in provincial action, scoring the fastest mile of the night in the June 6 Trillium event at Elmira Raceway (1:56.3) and again in the June 19 Grassroots event at Hiawatha Horse Park (1:55).
Ray Bunn trains Espirit Seelster for McCarthy Family Farms of Granton and regular driver Michael Sumner will be in the race bike on Saturday.
Hanover Raceway’s Friday evening performance gets under way at 7:20 pm with the three-year-old pacing fillies featured in Races 2, 6 and 9.