DUNDAS, ON — Flamboro Downs fans will witness an outstanding evening of harness racing Sunday when the top three-year-old trotters and pacers from across Ontario converge on the Dundas half-mile for eight $30,000 Grassroots Semifinals.
After gathering points through six regular season Grassroots events the top 16 colts and fillies from each division are ready to battle for a berth in next week’s $400,000 Championship round. Among the point leaders in the talent laden three-year-old trotting filly division is last year’s Grassroots champ Designable, who will start her bid for a second title from Post 1 in the fourth race.
“She’s been racing pretty good all summer so we’ll do what we can Sunday,” says trainer Wayne Langille. “She’s in tough.”
Langille shares ownership on the winner of $175,291 with James Barton of Branchton, Jeff Adamson of Brantford and Terence Adamson of Harley. The partners acquired Designable for $12,000 at the 2001 Canadian Classic Yearling Sale and have enjoyed every moment of the filly’s career in spite of her cantankerous attitude.
“She always did kick, she’s kind of a nasty little machine, but maybe that’s why she stays good,” says Harley resident Langille. “I went past her today when I was training one and she started kicking, just while she was out jogging.
“But she’s got a big heart I guess, to carry my big guts around,” he adds with a wry chuckle.
The Earl daughter captured three of her six Grassroots starts this season, finishing second twice and third once in the other three for a total of 212 points and sole ownership of second place in the division standings. Among the fillies she and Langille will face in the second trotting filly Semifinal is Armbro Amaze, who went undefeated through three Grassroots starts and will start from Post 4.
Once the trotting fillies wrap up their Semifinal battles in Races 2 and 4, the pacing fillies take centre stage and Joe Stutzman’s O See My Bo heads into her $30,000 skirmish off a very impressive victory in the last regular season event. Starting from Post 8 on a Georgian Downs track rated two seconds slower than normal, the Bo Knows Jate daughter stormed to a three and one-quarter length victory in 1:57.4.
“Although she is usually right in there, I was skeptical about her chances of winning because of the outside post,” admits Stutzman, who leases the filly from owner Douglas Lovely of London. “She got a good trip, the flow was good on the outside and that helped her out, but she also raced really good.”
The victory, added to one other win, two runner-up finishes and one third, gave O See My Bo 162 points and a share of third spot in the division standings. She will attempt to extend her season with a top four finish from Post 3 on Sunday, and although Stutzman admits the pacer is in a tough field he hopes she can deliver her usual consistent effort.
“She’s certainly got her work cut out on Sunday, but hopefully she’ll be right in there and get the job done,” says the Campbellville resident. “I was very happy to see she had the three-hole.”
While Stutzman and Langille were very pleased with the results of the post position draw, Albert Imbrogno was less enthusiastic when he learned that trotting colt Mr Garjangles would start from the outside Post 8. The leggy son of Mr Lavec has not raced on a half-mile track this season and Imbrogno would have preferred a spot closer to the rail for the colt’s debut.
“We’re concerned about racing him on a half-mile track, no question, especially when he got the outside post,” says the Etobicoke resident. “He’s a big horse, but it’s a good half-mile track. That’s the good thing about it.”
Imbrogno shares ownership on Mr Garjangles with his Canamerica Capital Corp. partner Doug Hyatt of Milton, Doug Millard Holdings Inc. of Woodstock and Stephen Scarff of Bedford, NS. The partners have watched the colt develop into a consistent player on the Grassroots circuit this year, where he went undefeated through four starts to finish the regular season atop the division standings with 200 points.
“He’s definitely a horse that’s getting better with age. He seems to be getting more confident, more sure of himself,” says Imbrogno. “And Cal (Campbell) has done a fantastic job with him.”
Mr Garjangles heads into Sunday’s contest off a nine-length confidence booster at Georgian Downs in the regular season finale on Oct. 14, stopping the clock in 2:02 over a sloppy track rated three seconds slower than normal.
Flamboro Downs kicks off the outstanding evening of Semifinal action at 6:20 pm, with the Semifinals occurring in Races 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11. The top four finishers from each Semifinal will receive an engraved invitation to compete in their respective $100,000 Grassroots Finals at the Dundas oval on Sunday, Nov. 2.