FRASERVILLE, ON — An impressive line-up of three-year-old trotting fillies will parade around Kawartha Downs on Saturday night in a trio of $23,000 Trillium Series divisions.
Grassroots leader Sno Doubt About It, Gold Series regulars Ifhallscouldtalk and Armbro Beseech and Pennsylvania Sires Stake champion Blossom Seelster are all hoping to make their presence felt among the group of Ontario-owned fillies. While carrying a shorter resume into the sixth race, Meadowview Marion is also hoping to make an impact at owner-breeder Charlie Reid’s hometown oval.
“She’s raced really well in her last two starts,” says trainer Brad Shakes. “I think she’s at the top of her game right now. She’s the best she’s been all year.”
The only thing putting a damper on Shakes’ enthusiasm is the filly’s post position draw. Meadowview Marion will start from the outside Post 8 in Race 6, hampering her ability to add a second victory to her 2004 win column.
“This is the weekend she should be good and she drew bad. That’s how it has worked for her all season,” says the Stayner resident. “When she has been good the trips haven’t worked out for her. Her only luck has been bad luck.”
Poor post position draws have been the least of the filly’s troubles this summer as she has battled a myriad of mysterious physical ailments throughout a season that was expected to produce results similar to her $107,601 freshman campaign.
Early in the season Shakes and his father Paul, who co-owns and bred the filly in partnership with Orono resident Reid, discovered Meadowview Marion was tying up and searched fruitlessly for answers until veterinarian Dr. Terry Ruch deduced that her ovaries were overactive. The addition of medication to treat that problem restored the filly’s health and she went on to a series of solid outings in the Grassroots program.
“She had a win at Clinton (July 1), a fourth in Sudbury (July 10) and raced good and a third at Dresden (Aug. 8) and raced good,” recalls Shakes, before continuing with the next twist to the filly’s saga. “Then one night (Aug. 19) she went to a Trillium in Sarnia and made her first ever break and we couldn’t figure out why. Finally we rechecked her ovaries and she had follicles on her ovaries.”
Another course of treatment and Meadowview Marion bounced back with a third-place finish at Kawartha Downs on Sept. 18 and an eighth-place effort at Georgian Downs last weekend that saw her run out of racing room before she ran out of gas.
“We’re going pretty bald on our hair this year, me and Dad, trying to figure it out,” says Shakes with a chuckle. “She made almost $110,000 last year and we didn’t expect her to be a top Gold filly, but we at least thought she’d be a top Grassroots horse.”
Meadowview Marion will try to avoid adding to the Shakes’ hair loss in Race 6 on Saturday, while the other two Trillium Series divisions are featured in Races 2 and 4 on Kawartha Downs’ 7:20 pm program.