WOODSTOCK, ON — After watching their three-year-old peers set a track record in Grassroots action at Woodstock Raceway two weeks ago, the two-year-old trotting colts are eager to carve their names into the track’s history books this Saturday.

After battling to a close finish in the season opening Grassroots event at Sarnia’s Hiawatha Horse Park, Duke Of Connaught and Pacific Rambler are looking forward to resuming their rivalry in the first $15,000 division. Duke Of Connaught prevailed in the first match up and trainer Ron O’Neill is hoping Pacific Rambler can even the score on Saturday.

“He’s come along really well for us,” says O’Neill. “He’s kind of like an Energizer Bunny. He’s one of those colts you just couldn’t get really tired and sometimes his mind goes somewhere else. He just needs to chill out a little.”

O’Neill shares ownership on Pacific Rambler with James Copeland of Woodstock and Wellwood Stables Inc. of Cambridge. The Striking Sahbra son is Copeland’s first foray into Standardbred ownership and O’Neill says the Woodstock resident is enjoying every moment of his early success.

“He’s having fun. He was really proud of him at Sarnia,” says the Cambridge resident. “He would come out to the farm pretty much every Saturday and watch him go; had the camera on him all the time.

“He’s been kind of lucky. It’s risky buying yearlings and I told him if you get one to the races as a two-year-old you’re doing pretty good.”

Pacific Rambler, a $24,000 US acquisition from the Harrisburg Yearling Sale, prepared for his freshman debut with a pair of qualifiers. On June 27 at Grand River Raceway he was the runner-up in a 2:06 mile and on July 5 at Mohawk Racetrack he recovered from an early bobble to finish fourth in another 2:06 clocking.

“He qualified pretty good at Grand River,” notes O’Neill. “At Mohawk he just got a little rambunctious and made a break, but he came back trotting and finished well.”

In the season opener at Hiawatha Horse Park, the gelding controlled the pace through much of the 2:03.2 mile before being caught in the stretch by Duke Of Connaught. O’Neill is hoping Pacific Rambler can deliver another solid effort at Woodstock Saturday, and then again at Dresden Raceway on Civic Holiday Monday.

“We’re just kind of easing him into everything,” explains O’Neill. “We’ll definitely go to Dresden, and kind of decide after that if we can make a stab at the Golds.”

Randy Fritz will send Pacific Rambler after his second Ontario Sires Sakes pay cheque from Post 2 in the first race on Saturday and other than Duke Of Connaught, who will start from Post 1, the pair faces three other Grassroots veterans and two colts who made their debuts at the Gold Series level.

The first Grassroots division will bring the Woodstock Raceway fans to their feet at 1 pm, with the other six divisions slated to go postward as Races 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/ewodsksa.html