DUNDAS, ON — Wayne Henry is supplying twenty-five per cent of the horse power in the four Grassroots Semifinals for freshman trotters at Flamboro Downs on Saturday evening.

The Arthur resident, who leads the Ontario Sires Stakes trainer ranks by a healthy 116 points, will harness five two-year-old trotting fillies and three two-year-old trotting colts in Saturday’s Semifinal round and would love to haul a trailer full back to the Dundas oval for the Oct. 7 Grassroots Championships.

“We have an eight horse trailer and I’m hoping I fill it,” quips Henry, who will also start a trio of three-year-olds in Semifinal action on Friday evening.

First out of the gate for the Henry Stable on Saturday are trotting fillies Tymal Francesca and H S Gingersnap, who will start from Posts 6 and 8 in the second race. Although he would like to see both fillies hit the top four and land a berth in their $100,000 Final, Henry knows the outside posts will make that task tougher for the young trotters.

“Tymal Francesca had a little bad luck from the eight-hole last time. She just couldn’t handle that,” he says of the miscue the Berndt Hanover daughter made trying to fire out of the outside post in the Sept. 23 Grassroots event at Flamboro. “I guess it’ll be H S Gingersnap’s turn to try it this week.”

In four Grassroots starts Tymal Francesca logged two wins and one third. The filly also logged one fourth and one fifth-place finish in two starts at the Gold Series level. Her Sept. 23 miscue marked the only time she missed a cheque in six starts. The Henry Stable of Arthur, James Laverty of Sauble Beach and breeder Ron Waples of Guelph share ownership on Tymal Francesca.

H S Gingersnap posted two wins and one fifth in four Grassroots starts to finish seven points behind her stablemate in the division standings. The Henry Stable and Daniel McCann of Parkhill own the Fiesty G G daughter, whose full sister Indys Kylee ($186,533) was a Grassroots Semifinalist at two and three.

In the second trotting filly Semifinal, Race 8 on the Saturday afternoon program, Henry will send out Powerline Mesa from Post 1, Malahide from Post 3 and Windsong Destiny from Post 8. Powerline Mesa led her stablemates in points, with two wins, one second and one fourth-place finish in six Grassroots starts, but Malahide was flawless in her two outings at the Grassroots level and Henry expects a strong performance from the Duke Of York daughter.

“She was just maybe one notch below the Golds. She made money there, but she just didn’t have quite enough to beat them or be right up there,” he explains. “I think she’ll be a better mare actually next year. She did a lot of growing and she’ll be better once she fills out and muscles up.”

The Henry Stable owns Malahide and Windsong Destiny, while Powerline Mesa races for NGA Powerline of Brantford.

On the trotting colt side, Henry expects a strong performance from T Js Mr Lavec, who will see the rail for the first time since July 16.

“He’s finally drawn half decent,” says Henry of the Mr Lavec son, who has started from the outside post in his last four races and still managed to post two wins and one second. “He’s a nice big colt.”

Accompanying T Js Mr Lavec in the fourth race is another son of Mr Lavec, Twin B Decalf, who gets Post 6 in the $30,000 contest. The Henry Stable and Daniel McCann own Twin B Decalf, while Trevor Henry of Arthur and James Laverty bred and own T Js Mr Lavec.

The final starter from the Henry Stable is Archies Dream, who finished up the season atop the trotting colt division with four wins and one second in six starts. The Angus Hall son will start from Post 1 in the ninth race for the Henry Stable and Sopman Holdings Limited of Thornhill, and his trainer-driver has just one goal for the sometimes fractious gelding.

“I’d like to see him close to the front,” says Henry, “Without making a break.”

While Wayne Henry harnesses a whole field of trotters, trainer Donald Lowes will take just one horse to his local oval on Saturday. The Paris resident will start Deuces And Jacks from Post 5 in the tenth race and he is hoping the pacing colt can replicate the 1:56.2 effort he clocked at Flamboro in the Aug. 31 Grassroots event.

“He had the (post) six last time so it won’t make that much difference,” says the horseman. “He’s been consistent all along, and he got a little better every race.”

Lowes acquired the son of Million Dollar Cam and Fit N Fast for just $3,200 at last fall’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale and the colt has returned $23,808 through one win, three seconds and one third in eight starts this season.

“He was small, that’s why he didn’t bring much,” explains Lowes. “And he’s still small.”

The diminutive colt will challenge for a top four position in the last of the eight Semifinals at Flamboro Downs on Saturday. The freshman pacing fillies open the afternoon’s program at 4 pm and fans will catch the other $30,000 showdowns in Races 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

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