DUNDAS, ON — Flamboro Downs fans will get a second dose of two-year-old pacing filly excitement when 57 Grassroots competitors arrive at the Dundas half-mile this Sunday for their Ontario Sires Stakes debut.
Caledonia resident James Kay will harness two fillies in the $105,907 event and the young trainer is ready to enjoy every minute of the experience, no matter what results Shalomarshestheone and Whitesand Merlot deliver.
“I have only been full time at this now for two years, and I’ve had the public stable opened up for just over a year, and everything has gone great,” says Kay. “So to start off with three (yearlings) last fall, all of them fillies, and have two of them make it to the point where we’re qualified and ready to roll; it’s very exciting.”
Kay adds that having the first Grassroots event right at home provided some extra motivation this spring, and he hopes that it will work to the fillies’ advantage on Sunday.
“I really, really wanted to start them off here where I am stabled,” he says. “Psychologically it is easier on them. There is no trailering, they will walk right out of their stall right onto the track, just like they do every day.”
The 30 year old qualified both fillies right at Flamboro, in spite of the fact that Shalomarshestheone’s size suggested that she would be better suited to the seven-eighths mile surface at nearby Mohawk Racetrack.
“She’s huge. She’s enormous for a two-year-old. She’s just shy of 17 hands, about 16.3 hands I would say,” says Kay. “A lot of people would look at her and ask why I am qualifying her at Flamboro, but I have absolutely no trouble with her going around the turns on a half-mile.”
If the Heartbeat Mindale daughter has had any problems this spring, they have had more to do with her lack of experience than with her size. In two early June qualifiers Shalomarshestheone lagged in behind the crowd and failed to meet the Ontario Sires Stakes qualifying standards. A third attempt saw her make an early break and in a fourth she suffered interference. Finally, all the pieces seemed to fall into place for the youngster in her most recent attempt, a fourth-place finish clocked in 2:03.1 on July 6.
“She’s just taking longer to learn her lessons,” says Kay of the filly known around the barn as �Mushy’ after her mushroom like growth as a youngster. “She does have that bit of a streak in her where she likes to fight. She’s scrappy when it counts.”
Kay shares ownership on Shalomarshestheone with breeder David Workman of Acton and will send the filly out from Post 2 in the second race with Robert Jenkins, Jr. at the helm.
While Kay says that Shalomarshestheone and Whitesand Merlot were similar through their early lessons, they have very little in common at this stage in the game, starting with their size.
“I bought Whitesand Merlot out of the Summer Sizzler Sale last year and she was the smallest, tiniest thing in the sale. But the way I looked at it, she’s a Northern Luck out of an Artsplace mare, so she’s probably never going to be that big, so I thought I would take a chance on her and I bought her for $1,500,” recalls the horseman. “Everyone still today says she’s a pretty small looking horse, but she doesn’t look that much out of place on the track, especially when she drops the hammer.”
Whitesand Merlot prepared for her Ontario Sires Stakes debut with a qualifier, a race and a second qualifier required after she made an early miscue in the June 18 race. The June 25 qualifier proved beneficial however, when the petite filly posted a three length victory in 2:03.1.
“She’s an absolute doll to deal with. I wish I had 100 more like her,” says Kay. “She’s a very handy filly. She showed she could leave from the first time she was on the gate. And you can call on her many times during a race to try and find that extra gear, where �Mushy’ is a one move horse.”
Whitesand Merlot will attempt to display her versatility from Post 4 in the fifth race, with Scott Coulter in the race bike.
The first two-year-old filly Grassroots division rolls in behind the gate at 6:20 pm on Sunday, with the other 48 fillies entertaining Flamboro Downs fans in Races 2, 5, 6, 9, 11 and 12.
For complete entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsu.html