REXDALE, ON — Bryan Haryott is looking forward to Monday night’s Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final at Woodbine Racetrack. Not just because the Etobicoke owner has a pair of two-year-old trotting colts competing in the $130,000 contest, but also because he hopes it will clear up the matter of which colt deserves first string status.
“They trained all winter as stablemates of course, and Mike (Guitard) always told me that Armbro Believe was the better of the two horses,” explains Haryott. “But it’s Angus Hall’s first crop, he’s unproven and I’m always skeptical of new stallions so I thought Armbro Balance (by Balanced Image) was the better one. He’s bigger and he looks like he can take a lot of endurance.”
Haryott’s belief was born out through the colts’ initial efforts. Armbro Believe won his July 12 qualifier in 2:08.4, but Armbro Balance had already finished second in his June 28 qualifier with a smart 2:06.3 effort and won a July 10 Grassroots event at Kawartha Downs in 2:05. Then in his July 19 racing debut Armbro Believe made a break and finished 18 lengths back in third in a Flamboro Breeders’ division.
Both colts ran into trouble in Gold Elimination action at Windsor Raceway on July 27 with Armbro Balance making an unexpected break at the start and Armbro Believe finishing well back in fifth before getting bumped up to fourth due to another colt’s miscue.
So heading into last week’s Gold Elimination round neither Armbro Believe nor Armbro Balance found favour with Woodbine fans, going off as the fifth and sixth choice in their respective races. However, Haryott’s evening got off to an exciting start when Armbro Balance delivered an impressive come-from behind victory in the first race, stopping the clock at 2:00.3. Then three races later Armbro Believe turned on the gas through the stretch to score a runner-up finish to Coventry in the fastest of the three eliminations, trotting his own mile in 1:58.
“Even though Armbro Balance won his race, he only went in 2:00.3 while Armbro Believe trotted around 1:58 — and it was only his third start,” notes the long time owner, who entrusts Campbellville resident Michael Guitard with the colt’s conditioning. “So I’m as curious as everybody else to see what he is going to do on Monday.”
Armbro Believe will make his bid for a top spot from Post 3 in Woodbine’s fourth race, while Armbro Balance will be hampered by Post 9. Paul MacDonell drove both colts in their eliminations, but Haryott expects the veteran reinsman will opt for Armbro Believe in the highly competitive Final and hopes that Keith Oliver will be available to drive Armbro Balance to another come-from-behind steal.
“I think you’ll probably see him got to the back. I don’t think he’ll leave,” says Haryott of Armbro Balance. “If they go fast enough on the front, he’s shown he has the speed at the end of the mile.
“I think the horse is still blossoming and at the end of the year maybe he’ll prove to be the better one,” he adds. “I just hope they both do well in there Monday.”
Among the talented youngsters Haryott’s duo will face are elimination winners Eilean Donon from Post 7 and Coventry from Post 2. Two-time Gold Final winner How Is That Fair has drawn outside for the second week in a row at Woodbine and will start from Post 10, while Bob McIntosh’s In Conchnito will see the rail for the first time in his career at Post 1.
Woodbine Racetrack’s Monday evening program begins at 7:40 pm and the two-year-old trotting colts will battle for the lion’s share of $130,000 in Race 4.