DUNDAS, ON — The margin of victory was smaller than he has become used to, and the time was well off the Ontario Sires Stakes record he set at Flamboro Downs in the summer, but three-year-old pacing colt Giddy Up Lucky maintained his perfect Grassroots record in the Semifinal round on Thursday night.
“It was rough. We were parked every step,” said driver Paul Mackenzie after the race. “He was getting a little tired, but he’s tough.”
Sent off as the prohibitive favourites in the last $30,000 Semifinal of the evening, Giddy Up Lucky and Mackenzie left the gate from Post 2 and found themselves on the outside in third when pacesetter Auctioneer reached the opening quarter in :26.4. Auctioneer continued to roll on the front end through a :55.1 half and a 1:24 three-quarters, and Giddy Up Lucky continued to sit on his right flank, pressing the pace but unable to clear to the front.
The pair battled down the stretch, but Giddy Up Lucky was able to dredge up enough energy to secure a half length victory in 1:53.4. Division point leader Legal Litigator and Castlecary Wildcat rounded out the top four and will also advance to next Friday’s Grassroots Championship.
Carlisle resident Jean Louis Arsenault trains Giddy Up Lucky for David Shea of Campbellville and Reg Petitpas of Shediac Bridge, NB. Through 18 starts this season the Camluck son has accumulated seven wins, three seconds and four thirds for earnings of $127,890.
“Jean Louis Arsenault has done a great job with him,” said Mackenzie. “I think he’ll make a real good aged horse.”
The Puslinch resident expects the other Semifinal winner, Keystone Debonair, to give Giddy Up Lucky a serious challenge in next Friday’s championship bout. Keystone Debonair and driver Don McElroy also wrestled their way up the outside to a 1:55.4 win for trainer John Kopas of Milton and owners Jack Kopas of Ilderton and George Hempt of Camp Hill. PA.
Sophomore pacing filly Shake That Junk also preserved her flawless Grassroots record on Thursday, but driver Jody Jamieson figures the Camluck miss will need to step it up a notch for next week’s skirmish.
“She won, but she didn’t look very good doing it,” said the Cambridge resident. “She only went a mile in 1:55.3, last quarter in :30.1. The last time she raced here she paced in 1:52.3.”
That 1:52.3 mile came in a leg of the Bud Light Series on Sept. 5, and Jamieson expects trainer James Dean to be logging extra hours in the coming week to make sure Shake That Junk is at the top of her game for next Friday.
“I’m sure he’ll have her as good as she can be,” said the reinsman, who shares ownership on Shake That Junk with Campbellville resident Dean, P And J Stable of Mississauga and Dr. David Powell of Campbellville. “He has dealt with her all summer, he knows her inside and out, so I’m sure come Friday he’ll have her as good as she can be.”
Shake That Junk posted a nose victory over Keystone Mystique, with All Accounted For and Doinsomethingright hot on their heels in third and fourth. The other pacing filly division saw point leader Slaley score her fifth straight Grassroots victory with a 1:55.2 effort. Brad Forward piloted the Grinfromeartoear miss to the win for trainer Bill Robinson and owners Ian Fromowitz of Richmond Hill and Gerrie Tucker of Montreal, QC.
�Mr. OSS’ Dave Wall piloted division point leader Windsun Pride to an impressive eight length victory in the second trotting colt Semifinal, stopping the teletimer at 1:58.
“Last week at Windsor he just got beat a neck. He went a big trip, and he hadn’t raced for a couple of weeks, so I thought I’d better give him a good shot tonight,” said Wall, who steers the colt for trainer Philip Coole of Puslinch and his partners Stoney Island Stable of Kincardine and Dr. Peter Johnston of Peterborough. “He was good; well within himself.”
Windsun Pride will face the other Semifinal winner Rapid Strategy in next week’s championship. Mario Baillargeon piloted Rapid Strategy to a 1:59 score in the third race for trainer Benoit Baillargeon and owner Frank Cirillo of Kleinburg.
Next week’s trotting filly final is shaping up to be an exciting battle, with the top four point earners all advancing out of the Semifinal round. Dornello maintained her flawless Grassroots record with a 1:59.3 win in the first split for trainer Mark Steacy and owners Joseph Myers of Holland, PA and Linda Worrell of Warminster, PA, while Good Common Cents scored an upset to take the second Semifinal in 2:00.2. Morriston resident Larry Walker trains Good Common Cents for Charles Armstong of Brampton.
The top two-year-old trotters and pacers will square off at Flamboro Downs tomorrow (Friday) evening in eight Semifinal battles, with the top four finishers from each Semifinal joining their three-year-old peers at the Dundas oval next Friday, Oct. 24 for the hotly anticipated Grassroots Championship.
For complete results please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rflmdth.html.