DRESDEN, ON — When two-year-old trotting filly Windsong Diamond rolls into Dresden Raceway on Monday afternoon for her second last Grassroots event, Malcolm MacPhail is hoping history does not repeat itself.

“Her mother came to Dresden about Labour Day and made a break in the first turn, spotted them 15 or 20 lengths, and then came back to finish second,” recalls the Dover Centre resident.

Windsong Diamond’s mother Early Secret went on to capture the Grassroots Championship as a two-year-old and came back at three as one of the year’s Gold Series stars. Through four seasons of racing she earned a total of $692,853 for MacPhail and his partners William and Paulette Loyens of London.

The same group, plus MacPhail’s brother Robert MacPhail of Dover Centre, share ownership on Windsong Diamond and through her first five starts the Striking Sahbra daughter’s career has shaped up in remarkably similar fashion to her mother’s.

“Her mother was slow going too. Her first win came at Belleville about the time Diamond was second in Belleville,” recalls MacPhail. “Then Diamond went and won in Hanover last week.

“I don’t expect her to be as good as her mother, but I hope she’ll be half decent,” adds the veteran horseman. “She’s got a lot better temperament than her mother had. She (Early Secret) just about killed me breaking her; it took a lot of patience to break her mother.”

Not wanting another dose of what he experienced with Early Secret, MacPhail and his partners sent Windsong Diamond to Georgia for the winter with trainer Paul Walker. After learning her lessons in the Georgia sun, Windsong Diamond qualified twice at the end of June and then made her debut in the Grassroots season opener at Georgian Downs on July 4.

Third in her debut, the filly then added a second, a sixth and another second-place finish to her Grassroots resume before claiming her first victory in an overnight event at Hanover Raceway on Aug. 23, where she stuck a nose in front at the wire to stop the clock at 2:06.3 over a track rated one second slower than normal.

Walker will send the filly after another set of Grassroots points from Post 1 in the seventh race on Monday. With two regular season events remaining, Windsong Diamond currently has 62 points and sits tied for the last berth in the post season showdown at Flamboro Downs on Sept. 30.

“I hope she’ll make the Semifinal. If she gets a couple more points maybe we’ll get to Flamboro,” says MacPhail. “She’s good on a half mile track.”

Among the fillies standing between Windsong Diamond and a sizeable piece of Monday’s pie are a pair of former Grassroots division winners. Armbro Exuberant will start from Post 5, while Taylorlane Dixie will be handicapped by the outside Post 7.

Dresden Raceway’s festive Labour Day Monday program gets under way at 1 pm and the two-year-old trotting fillies are featured in Races 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12.

For complete entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/edresmo.html