FRASERVILLE, ON — One month after their last Ontario Sires Stakes start the three-year-old pacing fillies return to Grassroots action Tuesday evening at Kawartha Downs.
All of the division leaders will be on hand to defend their spot in the lucrative post season and Jeff Goreski is hoping that Kiss For Luck is poised to join them.
“It’s very exciting to be in a top filly race with North America’s top trainer,” says Goreski, who recently moved the Camluck filly into Joe Stutzman’s barn. “We’ve got a sound mare with a fantastic gait that wants to be a racehorse, so we’re hoping Joe’s magic touch is just what we need to get us our first ever stakes win.”
In her first three Grassroots starts Kiss For Luck scored one second, one third and one sixth-place finish for a total of 37 points. With just two regular season events remaining Goreski decided it was time to pull out all the stops in an attempt to boost the filly up the division standings.
“I think using the best trainer in North America gives her the best advantage,” says the Ennismore resident, adding that regular trainer Mark Winacott has done an excellent job getting the filly ready for a concerted run at the leaders. “She’s never been as sound as she is now. She’s always had a slight problem with one knee. Now that she is fully sound we are definitely expecting some good things from her.”
Kiss For Luck’s health troubles are typical of the animals Goreski and his wife Hella have added to their stable since deciding the best way to deal with Hella’s battle with cancer and the end of her horseback riding career was to explore a different way to enjoy horses.
“My wife has terminal cancer and she couldn’t ride any more, so we decided if she can’t ride we might as well get a racehorse we can enjoy in the stable,” explains Goreski. “We have nine of them and every one have been horses that other people have given up on. We love the under dog. We love horses with heart, and if they’ve got that we can fix anything else.”
Ironically Goreski clearly remembers the date he jumped into the racing game, because it will be commemorated in history as the day the lights went out in Ontario.
“One year ago today (Aug. 13) we tried to buy our first horse, but they cancelled the races because of the black out,” he recalls with a chuckle. “Five minutes after I got the bank draft all the lights went out.”
The horse the Goreski’s were hoping to acquire that night was Repent, who has gone on to earn over $32,000 since being claimed by the couple on Aug. 28, 2003. Kiss For Luck has a long way to go before she achieves that level of success, but Jeff Goreski hopes the move to Stutzman’s barn will give the filly her best possible shot at a victory from Post 5 in the eleventh race on Tuesday.
Kawartha Downs raises the curtain on its Tuesday evening program at 4 pm with the three-year-old pacing fillies taking centre stage in Races 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.