DRESDEN, ON — Dresden Raceway hosts its annual Appreciation Day on Monday and, next to the free corn on the cob, the hottest things on the program are eight divisions of Ontario’s talented two-year-old pacing colts.
The colts are competing in their fourth Grassroots contest, and will be joined by a handful of Gold Series regulars taking advantage of the event’s wild card status. One of the six regular season events in each Grassroots division is designated as a wild card, allowing the top level competitors to drop down without having to miss a corresponding Gold event.
Trainer Gregg McNair starts four Grassroots contestants on Sunday and three will face off against Gold Series regulars. First out of the blocks for the McNair stable is Fames Fifth Avenue, owned by Robert B. Chapple of Chatham. The Apaches Fame son will make his second Grassroots start from Post 2 in the fourth race and will battle the reigning Gold Final champion Au Rumba from Post 6.
“He’s pretty green. This is only his third start coming up,” says McNair. “He was a touch sick up in Peterborough (Aug. 17), but I think we’ve got him fixed up.”
The colt faded to fourth after leading for much of the mile in his Grassroots debut at Kawartha Downs, but McNair is hoping for an improved performance from the now healthy youngster at Dresden on Sunday.
“He’s getting better every start and he trained there (Dresden) most of the winter,” explains the Guelph resident. “Fred Jewell had him all winter.”
In the eighth race I Dream of Jme carries the McNair flag into the fray from Post 6. The Albert Albert son will vie for a share of the $15,000 purse with Gold regular Firstline Royal, who gets the advantageous Post 1.
“He has improved as much as any of them in his last couple of starts,” says McNair of the brother to Perfect Scooter ($133,986), Go Wilma Go ($153,273) and Go Alberta Go ($271,542). “He didn’t seem too sharp, 2:01 tied him up there for a while, but he came his last quarter in :28.1 last week at Sarnia.”
John Cox of Bayfield and Kenneth Merner of Clinton share ownership on the big colt, who has a pair of fifth-place finishes to his credit in two Grassroots starts.
Run The Table son Run With Heart takes his third stab at the Grassroots from Post 8 in Race 12. The brother to former McNair trainee Run To The Bank ($769,009) ventured up to the Gold Series in July where he finished fourth in the elimination and ninth in the Final. He meets up with former Gold competitor Rustys Gold for the third time this season from Post 1 and Jimmy Crack Cohen, who was second in the Aug. 11 Gold Elimination at Flamboro Downs, from Post 3.
Run With Heart finished second in the Aug. 17 Grassroots event at Kawartha Downs, adding 25 points to the five he earned with a fifth-place showing in the season opener at Quinte Raceway on July 1. Another top three finish would move the colt into contention for a berth in the Grassroots post season.
“He was a nice surprise there at Peterborough,” admits McNair, who trains the colt for Sandy Farber of Palisades Park, NJ and John Walsh of Hackensack, NJ. “But he’s not really a racehorse yet. He’s got to learn a few things.”
McNair’s final starter also hails from the Chapple farm and is the most gifted of the group. Apaches Champ will attempt to secure sole ownership of top spot in the division standings from Post 3 in the fourteenth race.
“He’s the fastest colt we’re training,” says McNair. “And he knows the track down there too, he didn’t come up to us until May.”
The brother to Legacy Of Fame ($861,061), who McNair trained to a championship Ontario Sires Stakes season in 2000, has scored one win and a pair of seconds in three Grassroots starts for a total of 100 points and a share of the division lead alongside Armbro Avenue and Daylon Hornet.
McNair’s colts and the rest of the talented two-year-old pacers are a highlight of Dresden Raceway’s annual Appreciation Day on Labour Day Monday. The action on the racetrack gets started at 1 pm and the rest of the festivities, including free hot buttered corn, a Scottish Pipe Band, pony rides and a petting zoo, will be available throughout the afternoon.