SARNIA, ON — Hiawatha Horse Park will be overrun with two-year-old pacing fillies on Thursday, Aug. 17 as 84 eager youngsters converge on the Sarnia oval to compete for a total of $150,000 in 10 Grassroots divisions.

With 30 points earned through her first two Grassroots starts, Jim Ainsworth trainee Twin B Diva will be looking to jump up the division standings with a strong effort over her local oval on Thursday.

“I hope she’s better this week,” says the Sarnia resident, who has been nursing the filly through a minor ailment since her runner-up performance at Dresden Raceway on Aug. 7. “She’s looking a little sharper, a little brighter in the eye.”

A star among Ainsworth’s freshman contingent all winter, Twin B Diva started her season in the Gold Series at Grand River Raceway on July 3, finishing fifth in a 1:58.2 mile. Failing to make the Final, Ainsworth sent the filly to Mohawk Racetrack for a novice event on July 10 and she finished fourth.

Unimpressed with the filly’s first two starts, Ainsworth dropped Twin B Diva down to the Grassroots for the July 22 event at Sudbury Downs. After sprinting off the starting gate from Post 7 she faded through the last half of the race to fifth. Her second Grassroots start, at Dresden on Aug. 7, saw Twin B Diva carve all the fractions before getting caught in the last turn and settling for second.

Ainsworth will pilot the Camluck miss from Post 5 in Thursday’s fourth race and says the mid-pack position will not impact the fleet footed pacer.

“Post position shouldn’t be a factor for her. She has lots of gate speed,” notes the trainer-driver. “The first half hasn’t been her problem, it’s finishing the mile that she has trouble with.”

The horseman shares ownership on Twin B Diva with breeders Twinbrook Farms of Embro and his longtime partners, Martwest Racing Stable of Mississauga and William Boden of Vancouver, BC.

“Twinbrook bought her back from the sale for $17,000 and they asked me to train her,” recalls Ainsworth. “She was a real standout all winter and we ended up buying into her, but she hasn’t performed up to par.

“She raced good at Dresden, that was a nice filly that beat her,” he adds. “If she races that good, maybe a little better, she should be all right Thursday. I think 1:57 or 1:58 should win it and if she’s right I know she can do that pretty easy.”

Among the fillies that Twin B Diva and Ainsworth will face in the second division are a pair of Grassroots winners, Chloes Silver Star and Playin With Magic, who will start from Posts 1 and 8 respectively, and former Gold Elimination winner Titanic Rose, who gets Post 6.

The freshman pacing fillies are showcased in Races 3 through 12 on Hiawatha Horse Park’s Thursday evening program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm.

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