FRASERVILLE, ON — Ill Be There set a quick tempo at Kawartha Downs on Thursday evening, posting a 1:59.4 victory in the first of seven $24,000 Grassroots divisions for the province’s talented two-year-old trotting colts.

In rein to World Driving Champion Jody Jamieson, Ill Be There led the field through fractions of :29.1, :59.4 and 1:30 on his way to the two and one-quarter length victory over Coe Leader and Tymal Stellar.

Now a two-time Grassroots winner, Ill Be There is owned by trainer Carl Jamieson of Princeton and Thomas Kyron of Toronto. Thursday’s outing was the second time Kawartha Downs fans have had a look at the son of Kadabra and Disco Inferno, who finished fifth in his July 7 Gold Elimination at the Fraserville oval before moving into the Grassroots program.

Ross Battin and Mike Keeling teamed up for a pair of Grassroots victories on Tuesday, posing in the winner’s circle following the third and fifth races.

Starting from Post 5 with Pocket Passer in the third race, Battin opted for a come-from-behind strategy, watching from the middle of the pack as Hallucination rolled through fractions of :28.4, 1:00.2 and 1:30.3. Battin tipped Pocket Passer out behind San Pietro heading for the three-quarters and then outgunned the fan favourite in the stretch, reaching the wire one half length on top in 2:02.1.

San Pietro settled for second with Northern Triumph, owned by Parkhill Stud Farm of Peterborough, grabbing third-place honours.

Keeling conditions Pocket Passer for P C Wellwood Enterprises Inc. of Cambridge, ON and Jim Winske of Marlborough, MA. Thursday’s victory was the Ken Warkentin son’s first in three appearances.

At Post 6 with Strike The Cheque two races later, Battin again opted to sit mid-pack and power up the outside. Strike The Cheque reeled in pacesetter On Stride and then pulled away to a two length victory in 2:03.4. Mikey Hanover and House Money also overtook On Stride to earn the second and third-place shares of the $24,000 Grassroots purse.

Cambridge resident Keeling bred and shares ownership of Strike The Cheque with his father Ron Keeling of Owen Sound and Paula Wellwood of Cambridge. Through five starts the son of Striking Sahbra and Cheque Lavec has tallied three wins and one second for earnings of $42,275, and sits atop the freshman trotting colt division standings with 175 Grassroots points.

Up until Tuesday Strike The Cheque shared top spot in the point race with Keystone Orion, but he assumed sole control when Keystone Orion came up a neck short of reeling in Southwind Nazareth in the sixth race. The colts battled to a 2:03 finish with Dnieper three and one-quarter lengths back in third.

Anthony MacDonald, who has had a winning touch in Grassroots action this week, scoring four wins at Georgian Downs on Tuesday, piloted Southwind Nazareth to his first lifetime victory for trainer Shane Arsenault of Waterdown and his father Louis Arsenault of Freelton. In addition to Tuesday’s victory the Kadabra colt also has three runner-up finishes in Grassroots action to his credit for a point tally of 125.

The other Grassroots divisions were captured by Jake Be Nimble, who trotted home a three and one-half length winner for trainer-driver Rick Zeron and owner Terry Hunter of Cambridge; The Golden Child, who cruised to a nine and three-quarter length victory in 2:00.3 for trainer-driver Mark Etsell of Barrie, Neil Spahr and Bruce Newton of Wellesley and Robert Newton of Walkerton; and Midfield Magic, who got a nose in front for driver Doug Brown in the last division, stopping the teletimer at 2:03. Frank O’Reilly trains the colt for Franco Cianci of St-Laurent, QC, Isidoro Russo of Montreal, QC, Vincenzo Monticciolo of Laval, QC and John Fielding of Toronto, ON.

The two-year-old trotting colts will renew their Grassroots rivalry at Georgian Downs on Sept. 6.

Kawartha Downs wraps up its 2011 Ontario Sires Stakes schedule with an outstanding week of racing starting Thursday, Aug. 25 with Gold Eliminations for the lightning fast three-year-old pacing colts, continuing on Saturday, Aug. 27 with Grassroots action for the talented two-year-old pacing colts and concluding on Thursday, Sept. 1 with the $130,000 Gold Final for the sophomore pacing colts.

For complete results please go to: Kawartha Downs Results — Aug. 11, 2011