LONDON, ON — Paul Shakes and Antonio Tangreda have been looking forward to visiting Western Fair Raceway for over a month now. And while the pair will certainly check out the newly renovated facilities during their visit to the London oval on Saturday, the main focus of the trip is the $130,000 Gold Final for two-year-old trotting colts.
The pair share ownership on Angus Scot and have been pointing the gelding toward Saturday’s event since mid-September. Last week their focus paid off with a 2:02.3 victory in the elimination round and they are hoping the young trotter can repeat his winning performance from Post 5 in the tenth race Saturday.
“We’ve been looking forward to going to London because we knew (division leaders) Eilean Donon and How Is That Fair weren’t going, and because he can get a round a small track really good,” says Brad Shakes, who trains alongside his father Paul at their Stayner farm. “At Sudbury (Sept. 13) he made a break leaving, but he never quit and he ended up finishing second. That’s when we knew he was something special.”
With a record of two wins, two seconds, two thirds and earnings of $81,301, Angus Scot has more than earned his keep racing against Ontario’s top freshman trotters this season, but a penchant for making breaks behind the gate has hampered the Angus Hall son’s efforts to make the leap up to the top level.
“You’ve got to keep him off the gate. You can’t put him on it early or as the gate swings away he’ll try to lunge at it,” explains Shakes. “It’s not that he’s stupid, he’s just really competitive. His brain wants to go faster than his legs can go. He’s just got that attitude, he likes to pass horses.”
The addition of a snug martingale seems to have helped Angus Scot stay balanced through the early going in his last three starts and the young horseman hopes the gelding continues to deliver through the month of November.
“Hopefully he’s turned it around at the right time of year,” says the 21-year-old. “He’s starting to mature at a good time. I’m looking forward to the Super Final (Nov. 8).”
�Mr. OSS’ Dave Wall will be in his regular spot behind Angus Scot on Saturday and Shakes is quick to give the veteran reinsman credit for the gelding’s progress this season.
“Wally has done a great, great job with him all year,” he says. “He gets along really good with the horse.”
Among the colts that Wall will be keeping track of in Saturday’s Gold Final are the other elimination winner Lucky George from Post 2, $341,419 winner In Conchnito from Post 3 and former Gold Elimination winner Grand Sovereign from Post 4.
The trotting colts are featured in Race 10 on Western Fair Raceway’s Saturday evening program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm.