DUNDAS, ON — Stan Atkinson figures two-year-old pacing colt Anything To Win can compete against the province’s best if things line up in his favour, and the first element fell into place when the colt landed Post 1 in the second $40,000 Gold Elimination at Flamboro Downs on Sunday.

“He’s an inbetweener,” explains the Paris resident. “He shows he has the ability to go with those horses if he minds his manners and everything goes his way.”

Anything To Win earned his shot at the Gold colts with a strong runner-up performance in the July 19 Grassroots event at Georgian Downs. The Astreos son and driver Anthony MacDonald carved all the fractions in the 1:56.1 mile and then just got nipped at the wire. One week later Anything To Win tried his hand in Grand River Raceway’s Battle of Waterloo Eliminations and narrowly missed the final, finishing fourth by one length in 1:59.1.

The colt drew the outside Post 8 for the Aug. 4 Battle of Waterloo Consolation and wound up sixth, but Atkinson is ready to ignore that race for a variety of reasons.

“We just threw that race out the window,” says the horseman, who trains Anything To Win for Bud Williamson of Oakville. “He just wasn’t himself in the turns.

“He reminds me of the Coyote and Roadrunner, his legs are going 100 miles an hour,” adds Atkinson. “Anthony (MacDonald) said he was going hard in the turns at Grand River, but his legs were going everywhere.”

Atkinson says the other aspect of the colt’s demeanour that reminds him of the old Warner Bros. cartoon is his ability to cause trouble. Short in stature, Anything To Win demands more than his fair share of the attention in Atkinson’s barn.

“Around the barn he’s always into something. The first time I took him to the track he jumped through the window of the trailer with his front legs and didn’t hurt himself,” explains Atkinson. “He’s always in the shedrow, he sneaks out the gate. He’s always in trouble, but he’s so small and cute, it’s hard to get mad at him.”

While the horseman and his staff find Anything To Win endearing because of his size, the colt has the desire and the fire of a horse twice his size. Atkinson trained down six colts for Williamson, and told the owner early in the process that Anything To Win might be the dark horse of the group.

“He doesn’t know where the end of the mile is. I said to Bud all along, �He might be the sleeper,'” recalls Atkinson. “He just loves his job. Out on the racetrack he’s full of piss and vinegar. I think that’s his greatest attribute.”

A $7,000 purchase at the Forest City Yearling Sale, Anything To Win is the first foal of $118,428 winner Docs Reward, who recorded her lifetime mark of 1:53.1 as a two-year-old. While Atkinson does not expect Anything To Win to deliver a mile that quick this season, he would love to see the colt reward Williamson for his enthusiasm and his investment.

“He’s buying good breeding,” notes the trainer. “I’m hoping he has some luck.”

Anything To Win will make his Gold Series debut in the second $40,000 Gold Elimination at Flamboro Downs on Sunday. The Dundas oval’s Sunday program gets rolling at 6 pm, and fans can catch the two-year-old pacing colts in action in Races 1 and 3.

The top four finishers from each elimination will return to Flamboro Downs for their $120,000 Gold Final on Sunday, Aug. 17, part of the track’s exciting Confederation Cup program.

For complete entries please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsu.html.