ELORA, ON — A record setting 132 horses will compete for $225,000 in 15 Grassroots divisions at Grand River Raceway on Monday. The three-year-old pacing colts will occupy the entire holiday Monday program at the new half-mile oval, with the first division going postward at 6:50 pm.
“I almost went into shock when I saw that there were 15 divisions,” says trainer Joe Intine of Guelph, who will start Uptown Casino in Race 7. “It’s a real credit to the Ontario Sires Stakes program to be able to foster that many colts.”
Uptown Casino will make his 2004 OSS debut from Post 5 and Intine is expecting a strong effort from the youngster, who earned $91,959 in the Gold Series last season.
“We are looking for a very strong race from him,” says Intine, who trains the colt for Touch Stone Farms of Guelph and Mary Intine of Brantford. “You never want to underestimate Grassroots horses, a lot of them are wolves in sheep’s clothing, but he is absolutely ready going into it.”
The Camluck son comes into the $15,000 race off a May 15 tightener at Georgian Downs, his first start since coming down with a virus in early April.
“He had a very tough virus that hit him very hard, so I shut him down for all of April and most of May,” explains Intine. “But he came out of his last race super strong.”
Joining OSS veterans like Uptown Casino at the new Grand River Raceway are a cast of newcomers to the provincial program, including a youngster trained by Ian Reid. The Guelph resident will send out Shotgun Wedding from Post 6 in Race 12 and is looking for a solid effort from the Rustler Hanover son.
“I schooled him Tuesday and he went a good mile so we decided to enter him. I don’t know if he’s ready for the good ones yet, but he has enough talent to be in there,” says Reid, who shares ownership on the colt with his father Ian R. Reid of Campbellville and David Hoy of Guelph. “He’s got some step, I just don’t know yet whether it will bottom out at 1:55 or 1:51.”
Reid will also start Cherry Tree Chuck from Post 9 in Race 14. A four-time starter in the Grassroots program at two, Cherry Tree Chuck heads into Monday’s battle off a third-place finish in a 1:52.4 mile at Mohawk Racetrack on May 17.
“He’s got some top speed. If he’d had a few extra starts we might have gone to Flamboro for the Gold,” notes Reid. “But it just didn’t work out.”
Alan Kirschenbaum of Burbank, CA bred and owns the colt, who has a record of one win and one third in four starts this season.
To accommodate the record number of divisions, Grand River Raceway will raise the curtain on its Victoria Day program at 6:50 pm Monday, with the sophomore pacing colts starring in all 15 races.