FRASERVILLE, ON — In less than a year three-year-old trotting colt San Pail has completed a remarkable transformation, from a horse his owner could not give away, into an Ontario Sires Stakes record holder and favourite for next Tuesday’s $130,000 Gold Final at Kawartha Downs.

After making repeated breaks and displaying little enthusiasm for the business of racing, the son of San Pellegrino and Village Beauty was turned out early in his two-year-old season, abandoned in a field of broodmares as a lost cause. Breeder and Port Perry resident Glenn Van Camp had decided to cut his losses and was just hoping someone would come along to take the gelding off his hands.

“I was at Robert Van Camp’s feed store one day, and I guess they had been trying to give the horse away to different people and everyone turned them down,” recalls trainer Rod Hughes. “He asked if I was interested in a colt, a two-year-old, turned out. He said, �You better go and have a look at him,’ and I said, �I don’t need to see him. I’ll take him and try him.’

“That would have been the middle of last summer, and I’ve worked away on him ever since.”

San Pail was a big, gawky colt so Hughes opted for a slow and steady approach. He jogged the youngster through the summer to rebuild San Pail’s strength and conditioning, and then turned him out in September. After a few weeks off the gelding resumed his lessons, and at the beginning of December Hughes schooled the youngster in 2:10 then quit with him for another month.

After San Pail resumed his training regimen for a second time, he started to make impressive progress, and Van Camp and Hughes started to re-evaluate their expectations.

“About February you’d say we started realising he had some talent and some speed,” says Little Britain resident Hughes. “Up until then we thought if we ended up with a racehorse, that would be all right.”

San Pail qualified for the first time on March 23 at Mohawk Racetrack, and made his debut at Woodbine Racetrack on April 1, finishing fourth in a 1:59.3 mile. Seven days later the gelding made his first appearance in the winner’s circle, sailing to a three length win in 2:01.4.

For the next four weeks San Pail made steady progress through the ranks of non-winners at Woodbine, so Hughes and Van Camp decided to take a run at the Gold Series colts in the May 20 season opener at Mohawk. The gelding fired off the starting gate to a :28.1 opening quarter, but was not ready for the 1:55.3 mile served up by winner Flirtin Man and finished fifth.

Back at Mohawk in overnight action, San Pail started to shave a few seconds off his miles and on June 18 he scored a second victory with a gate-to-wire effort in a smart 1:56.2. Starting from the rail in last Tuesday’s Gold Elimination at Kawartha, San Pail once again charged away from the starting gate, led the field through every station, and hit the wire in 1:54.4, shattering the track record for sophomore trotting colts and equalling the Ontario Sires Stakes and Canadian record set by superstar Majestic Son last season.

“That was his decision, not mine,” admits Hughes, who also drives the gelding. “He turned in behind the gate and he had his mind made up, but he didn’t feel like he was putting in that kind of effort. I didn’t expect to see that kind of time flash up.”

This Tuesday, July 3 the pair will start from the trailing Post 9, and Hughes hopes the gelding arrives at the start with a slightly different plan of attack.

“I hope he minds his manners behind the gate,” says the horseman. “I’m just going to have to put a little effort into keeping him quiet before, in the parade, not get him too wound up.”

Hughes adds that the gelding, who is very laid-back around the barn, will not see any changes in his routine in spite of his elevated status as a Canadian record holder.

“He gets turned out a lot. I don’t think he’s trained, he’s probably only trained two or three times since he qualified in April,” adds the horseman, wryly. “This week I’ll just turn him out, rest him up and cross my fingers.”

Hughes knows he is in for a fight on Tuesday. The other elimination winners, Laddie and Claudius Augustus, will start from Posts 2 and 5, while two-year-old Super Final winner Beer Budget gets Post 1.

“Now that the eliminations are over, they are all tough colts,” reflects Hughes. “And they’re all going to be ready, there’ll be no fooling around.”

Post time at Kawartha Downs on Tuesday, July 3 is 4:15 pm and the three-year-old trotting colts will wage their fierce Gold Final battle in Race 5.

For complete entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/ekdftu.html#N5