Ontario’s talented three-year-old pacing fillies hit the halfway mark in their Grassroots season this Friday evening at Grand River Raceway, and trainer Garth Gordon is hoping Taylorlane Fancy proves to be a fast learner

after missing the first two provincial tests.

“When I started her back she had an infection in her left hind foot. That’s why she’s just getting started,” explains the Guelph resident, who shares ownership on Taylorlane Fancy with breeder Ed Taylor of Grand Valley.

Since making her sophomore debut at Mohawk Racetrack on June 11, Taylorlane Fancy has dropped two seconds off her time in three successive starts, the most recent a fourth-place finish at Mohawk on July 2. Gordon was hoping the filly would deliver at top finish at Grand River, where she scored her first lifetime victory last season, but tempered his expectations following the post position draw.

“She doesn’t wear any boots or anything and she gets around the turns pretty good, but it will be pretty tough from the eight-hole,” explains the horseman. “Anything can happen in a horse race, but it will be pretty tough.”

Stuart Sowerby will pilot Taylorlane Fancy from Post 8 in the eighth race, and Gordon would love to see the Guelph resident engineer the same sort of trip that earned a former pupil four Grassroots victories and $47,000.

“I had a filly a few years ago, Shes A Blast. Stu Sowerby used to drive her for me, and he’d always sit last with her. One night she was last turning for home and won the race,” recalls Gordon. “I’m kind of hoping this filly can do the same thing.”

While Gordon would love to see Taylorlane Fancy find success in the Grassroots program, the veteran horseman has adopted a long-term perspective on her racing career. The Modern Art daughter is the eighth foal from Taylor’s broodmare Armbro Ocala, and three of her siblings have earned more than $100,000 racing as aged horses, with Lady Lola coming in as the richest at $214,852.

“I think she’ll be a nice overnight filly down the road,” he says. “She’s a nice size filly, she’s fairly sound and she hasn’t really raced hard.”

The trainer adds that Taylorlane Fancy also has an easy-going personality and good manners, but breeder Ed Taylor recalls a moment in time when Gordon would not have expressed the same opinion.

“Garth and I have had a horse together since forever. I give him the pick of the crop and that’s the one he picked,” Taylor relates. “But the first time he went to grab her in the stall, she struck out at him with her front foot. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her or not then.”

“He had to catch her,” adds Gordon. “I went to catch her and she fired at me, so he had to go and get her for me. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Fortunately Taylorlane Fancy’s mistrust of her new handler was short-lived and she went on to post a record of two wins, one second and one third in 10 starts at two, banking $21,794. The filly will be looking to boost that total with a top five finish in the sixth of nine Grassroots divisions at Grand River Raceway on Friday.

The three-year-old pacing fillies kick off the Elora oval’s Friday evening program at 6:30 p.m., with the remaining Grassroots divisions featured in Races 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12.

Click here to view the entries.

(OSS)