FRASERVILLE, ON — Kawartha Downs presents an outstanding program of Ontario Sires Stakes action Saturday evening, featuring the $130,000 Gold Final for three-year-old trotting fillies and five Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old trotting fillies.
Gold Elimination winners Wanabeamillionaire, Chelemark Ginger and Wescott will depart from Posts 1, 2, and 6 in the sixth race and trainer Paul Walker is hoping that Chelemark Ginger can take advantage of her inside post the way she did last weekend.
“She’s good enough at the gate she can make use of that,” says Walker, who shares ownership on the filly with Carscot Stables of Toronto. “At least we’ll be in the hunt for a while.”
Starting from Post 1 in her elimination Chelemark Ginger and Walker landed in second through the early going then took control of the race heading to the half when John Bax trainee Aimees Image stalled out on the front end. Chelemark Ginger coasted home to a three and three-quarter length victory in 2:00.4, while Aimees Image came on through the late going to finish second.
“She’s luckier than most,” says Walker. “But at least she took advantage of it. When you get in an easy division and your horse doesn’t take advantage of it, you feel worse.”
“We know we don’t want the front end with Aimees Image, or she’ll stop,” adds Peterborough resident Bax with a wry chuckle. “She’s quite a girl.”
Walker and Chelemark Ginger will be looking for their third win of the season Saturday in the filly’s seventh lifetime start. A $47,000 yearling acquisition in 2001, the Super Pleasure daughter did not start at two in spite of showing Walker an abundance of talent.
“I had high hopes for her last year. I qualified her a couple times and she showed a lot, but then she had a little injury,” recalls the Owen Sound resident. “And this year she started out good, but in her last start at Woodbine (June 30) she tapered off. I’m still hoping that toward the end of the year she’ll get to the point where she can race with the best three-year-olds.”
The two-year-old trotting fillies will warm up the Kawartha crowd before the Gold Final in Races 2, 3 and 5 and then wind things afterward up in the seventh and eighth races. Frank O’Reilly will harness two fillies in the Grassroots event and the personable trainer likes their chances.
“I think they’re good enough for the Gold, but Kawartha was closer and it’s a busy season,” says O’Reilly of J Cs Charm and Taylorlane Astra. “I think it’s asking a lot to ship a two-year-old filly three weeks in a row to Ottawa and the next start for the Gold is at Elmira and that’s 25 minutes from my farm.”
Both fillies competed at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 4 where J Cs Charm finished second in her Trillium division with broken equipment and Taylorlane Astra was fifth in her division after making a break that O’Reilly blames on driver error.
“She never made a break all winter so I thought she wouldn’t and I hustled her out of there,” he says. “She was the best if I didn’t drive her so poor. And J Cs Charm broke a tongue tie for the second week in row, that was one of the reasons she got beat. The other filly that beat her out trotted her, but I don’t think she’ll out trot her again.”
On Saturday J Cs Charm will make her Grassroots debut from Post 6 in the third race, while Taylorlane Astra gets Post 2 in the eighth. Veteran Ontario Sires Stakes reinsman Ross Battin will drive the pair and O’Reilly says the driver change should not impact the young trotters.
“These fillies are so good, even Ross Battin can drive them,” says O’Reilly, poking fun at his long time friend. “These fillies are legitimate, if they can overcome me as a trainer, they can overcome Ross as a driver.”
The Orton resident shares ownership on J Cs Charm with Ron and Jon Lee Stables of Dundas and conditions Taylorlane Astra for Langcrest Farm of Grand Valley.
Among the fillies Taylorlane Astra will face in the eight race is Trillium Series winner Trendy Girl from Post 4, one of three fillies John Bax will harness in the Grassroots competition. The local horseman will also send out Victory Bouquet from Post 1 in Race 2 and Yankee Dakota from Post 6 in the seventh race.
Kawartha Downs’ Ontario Sires Stakes showcase gets under way at 7:20 pm on Saturday evening. The sophomore trotting filly Gold Final is featured in Race 6 with the two-year-old trotting lasses flanking them in Races 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8.