FRASERVILLE, ON — Three-year-old pacing filly Whitesand Scarlet may have earned the last qualifying spot in Saturday’s $100,000 Grassroots Final, but James Crowley is expecting much more from the filly than she delivered in the semifinal round.

“In the Semifinal she was not feeling her best,” explains the Norwood resident. “But I’ve been treating her and she’s feeling really good this week. I’m looking for big things.”

Crowley says Whitesand Scarlet got a touch of the virus after her Oct. 4 Grassroots win at Hiawatha Horse Park. He and his veterinarian caught the illness quickly and were able to get the filly healthy enough to take a crack at the Oct. 18 Semifinal, where she finished seven and a half lengths behind winner Just Her Way in fourth. Over the first hurdle, Crowley has continued to work on the filly this week, and expects her to be much better in Saturday’s Final.

“I trained her a trip Wednesday and she was really good,” says Crowley, who owns and trains Whitesand Scarlet. “I’m not going to work her too hard this week, and hopefully she’s in top form for Saturday.”

Newcastle resident Gord Brown will steer Whitesand Scarlet from Post 6 in Saturday’s seventh race, and Crowley was philosophical about the filly’s position on the outer half of the starting gate.

“Obviously I’d like to have been closer, but Scarlet won at Grand River Raceway this year (July 13) out of the eight-hole,” says the trainer. “I’m just hoping she responds like she can. I hope she will.”

A winner of three of her six Grassroots starts this season, Whitesand Scarlet faces a trio of fillies trained by Bob McIntosh in Saturday’s Final, including last year’s Grassroots champion Magic Maverick.

Of last season’s freshman champions, Magic Maverick is the only one with a shot at a second straight title. The other three division winners did not even crack the top 20 point earners. However, the Western Maverick daughter’s quest for a second Championship crown will be hampered by her post position — she and driver Brad Forward landed the outside Post 8.

“I was really disappointed with her draw,” admits McIntosh, who shares breeding rights and ownership on Magic Maverick with C S X Stables of Liberty Center, OH. “She raced big last week, coming three-wide to be third, and she’s sharp right now. She would have been a top contender.

“She’ll have to be lucky out of the eight-hole,” the LaSalle resident adds. “Leave and try and get a spot, then get some luck.”

Magic Maverick’s stablemate Playin With Magic will start to her left from Post 7, and McIntosh says the Camluck miss has been inexplicably flat in her last few starts. The trainer has had the filly thoroughly examined by his veterinarian, with no negative results, so he is chalking up her lacklustre performance to late season fatigue.

“She’s just not quite as sharp as she was a month ago. I don’t whether she’s tired or what it is,” says the Hall of Fame horseman. “But she didn’t need that outside post on top of everything.”

McIntosh, Dwight Stacey of Mitchell and Al McIntosh Holdings Inc. of Leamington bred and own Playin With Magic, who finished fourth in her Semifinal behind Secret Grin, Quail Seelster and her stablemate.

Rounding out the McIntosh contingent is Breathdefying, who will start from Post 2 with Don McElroy in the race bike. The Intrepid Seelster lass finished third behind Just Her Way and Spun Sugar last Thursday, and McIntosh is hoping for good things from the talented youngster this week.

“She’s a pretty talented filly,” notes the trainer. “She’s not the best filly in there, but she makes up for it with a lot of determination and a lot of spirit.”

Dave Boyle of Bowmanville shares ownership on Breathdefying with McIntosh and C S X Stables.

In addition to his pacing filly entry, McIntosh will also send out Stonebridge Nugget from Post 3 in the two-year-old pacing filly Final, Semifinal winner Just A Suggestion from Post 3 in the two-year-old pacing colt final, and Stonebridge Spirit from Post 5 in the three-year-old trotting colt final. All six horses that McIntosh qualified for the Grassroots post season, earned a ticket to Saturday’s grand finale.

“We took six down and we’ve got six in, all six qualified,” says the horseman. “With our training style, we kind of wait on them and don’t push them early. A lot of people get them cranked up early, but I think you pay the price for that. There’s only so much juice in the lemon.”

McIntosh’s six horse trailer will be pulling into Kawartha Downs well before the 7 pm post time on Saturday evening, full of contenders in four of the eight Grassroots Finals slated as Races 2 through 9.

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