BELLEVILLE, ON — Quinte Raceway kicks off a busy weekend of Ontario Sires Stakes racing on Friday night with three Trillium Series divisions for the sophomore trotting fillies. The Belleville half-mile will then celebrate Canada Day with the first Grassroots event of the season for the two-year-old pacing colts.
Joining her Ontario-bred peers for the second of three Trillium Series events on their 2002 schedule is American Winner daughter Curitiba. The Pennsylvania-bred filly was a runaway winner in the first Trillium of the season, logging a ten length margin in her 2:02 tour of Elmira Raceway on May 31.
Since then she has been butting heads with the cream of the North American trotting filly crop — competing in the Colonial Lady and Elegantimage Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack — and trainer/driver Mark Steacy says a return to a half-mile oval will be just what the doctor ordered for the dainty trotter.
“She’s just not up to going with the likes of (Elegantimage winner) Cameron Hall, that’s for sure,” says Steacy. “But she should like Belleville. She is good gaited, quick off the gate and very handy, so the turns are not a problem for her.”
Curitiba will start from Post 2 in the second race on the 7:25 pm program, which will play perfectly into the strategy that Steacy hopes to employ.
“Starting has always been her strong point. She likes to control the race,” explains the Lansdowne resident. “And, knock on wood, she has not made too many mistakes in her career.”
Steacy trains the winner of $132,593 for Peter Heffering of Port Perry, David Reid of Kingston and Stan Klemencic of Trenton and the partners are hoping the filly can lower her 2:00 personal best and reach the $200,000 mark before the end of her three-year-old season.
“I think she’ll be pretty good value as a broodmare,” explains Steacy. “Hopefully she’ll go over $200,000 this year and we’ll get a good mark on her. She’s been in 1:57 a couple of times and if she could win there that would help a lot.”
Curitiba takes on five Ontario-bred fillies and another US bred in Quinte Raceway’s second race on Friday, including a two-horse entry from the Ross Henry stable. The three time winner of the Johnston Cup as top trainer in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, Henry will start four fillies in the Trillium event, Times R Good and Ava Hall from Posts 3 and 4 in Race 2, Early Miss Molly from Post 2 in the sixth race and Please Remember Me from Post 5 in Race 9.
The first race rolls in behind the starting gate at 7:25 pm at Quinte Raceway on Friday with the three-year-old trotting fillies poised to show off their skills in Races 2, 6 and 9.