REXDALE, ON — Carl Jamieson will harness five horses in Saturday’s $2.4 million Super Final Championship at Woodbine Racetrack to put the cap on another outstanding season in the Ontario Sires Stakes program.
A fixture on the Ontario Sires Stakes leading trainers list, the Princeton resident is having a banner year in 2004. In the provincial program alone his horses have earned $1,203,886 and he currently sits second in the Johnston Cup race, only 28 points behind three time winner Ross Henry.
“Just a lot of hard work and a little luck,” says the horseman, when asked about the key to his Ontario Sires Stakes success.
Jamieson’s ability to select the right horse at the right price during the fall yearling sales has been a critical component to creating that luck. The five horses he will start on Saturday — two freshman pacing fillies, one freshman pacing colt and two sophomore pacing fillies — cost a total of $152,500 and have earned over $1.4 million in their careers to date.
The most expensive yearling of the bunch, $110,000 purchase Lucks Mistress, will lead the charge from the Jamieson barn on Saturday. A sister to $779,728 winner Camystic, the two-year-old pacing filly has made six visits to the winner’s circle this season, claimed three Gold Final titles and earned $383,630 for the Lucks Mistress Stable of Princeton.
“I think she’s going into the race really well and I think she will be the winner,” says Jamieson confidently. “She has paced in 1:52 and change down there, and she trained pretty well today.”
Jamieson’s son Jody will pilot regular season points leader Lucks Mistress from Post 2 in the fifth race while he sends her stablemate Ingrid Bergrin after a share of the $300,000 purse from Post 1.
The trainer, Jerry Jamieson of Blenheim and Thomas Kyron of Etobicoke acquired shares of Ingrid Bergrin from breeder Dr. Robert Boyce of London after a physical imperfection kept her out of the 2003 yearling sales. In spite of her flaws, the Grinfromeartoear daughter has posted a record of three wins and three thirds in 12 starts and earned $110,548 in her inaugural racing season.
“She’s not a top filly, but she’s good enough,” says Jamieson. “I think she has the most money earned of any Grinfromeartoear filly.”
Jamieson will also harness a pair of contestants in the three-year-old pacing filly event. Taylor Lynne, owned by Carl and Jerry Jamieson, Arthur Slack of Cumbria, ENG and Gerald Rattray of Hamilton, will start from Post 1 with son Jody aboard, while Jamieson will pilot Lucys Fame from Post 8 for partners Karl Ungerman of Toronto and Glengate Farms of Campbellville.
“I think Taylor Lynne is back on her game right now,” says the trainer. “Lucys Fame really needed an inside post, she’s not one of the best ones, but she could get a cheque.”
In the two-year-old pacing colt event Jamieson will send out $154,511 winner Lincoln Parke from Post 1 and expects a solid effort from the Astreos son.
“He’s got a good post so he should get a pretty good trip,” says the horseman, who trains the $20,000 yearling for Ted Smith of Milton, Karl Ungerman, Arthur Slack and George Harrison of Lancashire, GB. “It will be hard to beat that Isle Of Patmos, but we’ve beat him once before.”
Reigning Gold Final champion Isle Of Patmos and driver Luc Ouellette will start from Post 6 in the sixth race, and Peter Heffering is hoping the Astreos colt can capture his sixth win of the season.
“He’s a very nice colt. He was a littler slower coming to it than some of the Astreos colts, but once he got it all together he started to show some ability,” says Heffering. “And he’s getting better as the season goes on.”
Heffering shares ownership on Isle Of Patmos, a $100,000 US yearling raised at his Port Perry farm, with David Scharf of New York, NY, Jerry Silva of Bellmore, NY and Sampson Street Stables of Old Forge, PA. The Mark Capone trainee has been impressive in recent weeks, capturing four of his last five starts and shattering the track and Ontario Sires Stakes record in a Gold Elimination at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Oct. 29.
Heffering also owns a share of two-year-old pacing colt Make My Day, yet another son of Astreos, who finished second to Isle Of Patmos in the Nov. 4 Gold Final after capturing his elimination the week before.
“He’s a nice colt, probably not quite as nice a colt as Isle Of Patmos, but he’s not too shabby. He’s paced in 1:52,” says Heffering. “We thought he had more than he showed us all summer, but he’s come on in the fall.”
Make My Day has amassed a record of three wins, one second and one third in 11 starts for earnings of $116,501, and has not finished out of the money in his last six starts. The Duane Marfisi trainee will make his bid for a fourth victory from Post 8 Saturday, with Mark MacDonald in the race bike for Heffering, Dr. Michael Wilson of Rockwood, Banjo Farms of Toronto and WCB Racing Stable of Bordentown, NJ.
Woodbine Racetrack’s Saturday evening program begins at 7:40 pm, with the much anticipated $2.4 million Super Finals beginning in Race 3. The freshman pacing fillies and colts are featured in Races 5 and 6.