ELORA, ON — Grand River Raceway fans get another dose of Ontario Sires Stakes excitement Monday evening when the two-year-old trotting colts arrive at the Elora oval for their fourth Grassroots event.
Trainer Joe Hudon will harness a pair of colts in the $105,000 event and the Acton resident is hoping their advantageous post positions will help Absolutelystriking and Wilbur Dean further their education. Absolutelystriking will start from Post 3 in the tenth race, while Wilbur Dean gets the benefit of the rail in Race 11.
“Absolutelystriking is a nice little horse, if he wouldn’t have made a break he probably would have finished second in his second last start there,” notes Hudon. “He’s got some speed, but his head is not quite right yet.”
The Striking Sahbra son has tantalised Hudon and his partner R A W Equine of Mississauga with moments of brilliance followed by major gaffes through his first three starts. Making his debut at in the Grassroots season opener at Hiawatha Horse Park, the gelding was second by a nose at the top of the stretch and then made a break that landed him at the back of the pack. At Woodstock Raceway on July 23 Absolutelystriking was right behind the leaders in third before he committed the same error.
A required qualifier saw the novice trotter deliver a flawless 2:08 effort over Mohawk Racetrack on July 26 and he followed that up with a second-place finish in the Dresden Raceway Grassroots event on Aug. 1.
“I think he’s getting better,” says Hudon. “If he’d concentrate on his work a little better he’d be one of the top money earners.
“He trained good this morning, but sometimes when he gets in a race he gets all rattled,” adds the veteran trainer-driver.
Ironically, after starting his season with a flawless effort at Woodstock that earned him a fifth-place cheque, Wilbur Dean made a miscue at the start in the Dresden event that left him 40 lengths off the pace. The King Conch son was able to cut that deficit by two-thirds, but could only manage a sixth-place finish. With the rail on Monday, Hudon is hoping the colt can continue to move along his learning curve and perhaps earn a Grassroots cheque in the process.
“We’re hoping he gets stronger. He’s a pretty good gaited colt,” says Hudon, who trains Wilbur Dean for breeder Margaret Payne of Fredonia, NY. “But he’s not that strong right now.”
Grand River Raceway sends its first race into the starter’s hands at 7:30 pm on Monday, with the two-year-old trotting colts stepping to centre stage in Races 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11.
For a complete list of entries please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/egrvrmo.html