FRASERVILLE, ON — Kawartha Downs continues its outstanding three week stretch of Ontario Sires Stakes action on Saturday evening with two Trillium Series divisions for the three-year-old pacing fillies.

The Trillium Series, open to any filly owned by an Ontario resident, brings Grassroots and Gold Series fillies together and Jason Woodward is hoping that Grassroots regular Magnificent Millie will acquit herself well against the top class fillies from Post 2 in the first division.

“I think she can hold her own with them. She drew pretty good so she should be able to get herself spotted,” says the Peterborough resident. “She’s a nice filly. I’m kind of hoping she puts a good showing up Saturday and gets a good chunk of it.”

Woodward trains the Island Fantasy daughter for Donald Anderson of Norwood and Gordon Rowley of Bailieboro, who acquired the filly at the end of April from breeder Murray Brethour. Since then the sister to $257,295 winner Magnify This has amassed a record of two seconds and two thirds in seven starts, with both seconds and one third coming in the Grassroots program.

“She’s almost paid for herself now,” says Woodward. “One more good cheque and she will pretty well have paid for herself.”

In addition to refunding her purchase price to Anderson and Rowley, Magnificent Millie’s early success has been the catalyst Woodward needed to make the leap back to training his own stable full-time after working for top Ontario Sires Stakes conditioner John Bax for the last decade.

“It’s only been in the last month or so that I’ve went back on my own again and she kind of helped me decide that I was going to do it,” says the 34 year old, who trained a few horses of his own while looking after such Bax trained standouts as $801,377 winner Pepi Lavec. “It’s nice to have one of my own that’s doing something in the Sires Stakes.”

With 62 points earned through the first three Grassroots events, Woodward, Anderson and Rowley are hoping Magnificent Millie can land one of 16 spots in the post season Grassroots Semifinal, and Woodward says the next two events on the Grassroots schedule will be a proving ground for the petite pacer.

“She’s not very big. I’ve been trying to keep her away from the big tracks as much as I can,” says the trainer. “Sarnia (Aug. 11) and Windsor (Sept. 7) will show whether she can go with those fillies on the big tracks.”

Among the fillies Magnificent Millie will tackle over Kawartha Downs’ five-eighths mile oval Saturday are four Gold Series competitors, including former Elimination winner Ashley And Gloria from Post 6, and one Grassroots stalwart. Joining the Ontario-bred lasses is Helen Dancer Memorial division winner Digga Digga from Post 1, a daughter of American-based sire Pacific Fella.

Post time for Kawartha Downs’ Saturday evening performance is 7:20 pm, with the three-year-old pacing fillies ready to dazzle fans in Races 2 and 4.

For complete entries please go to:

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