Federal Flex, last year’s two-year-old trotting sensation, may have underwhelmed to some degree this year, but luckily trainer Jeff Gillis has two more up-and-coming trotters on which to hang his hopes

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Ja El Express and Newport Volo are both entered in separate $114,667 divisions of the Champlain Stakes this Sunday evening, September 6 at Mohawk. And both have exceeded expectations so far, though in the case of Ja El Express, some equipment changes have been called for.

“Ja El Express was a private purchase a couple of months ago,” says the Guelph-based Gillis, who co-owns with Ken Henwood of Mississauga. “He started off great, earning $100,000 right off the bat. But then he made breaks in a couple of starts in a row. He’s got a big motor and he just sort of got ahead of himself. So we’ve added trotting hopples – I’m not wild about them but they’re on, for now. He qualified in them [on August 28] and won by six.

“If he’s at the top of his game on Sunday, he can go right with any of the colts in there.”

Ja El Express, a son of Kadabra, currently boasts a record of three wins in five starts and will go postward in the second of the three Champlain divisions, from Post 4. Jody Jamieson will be in the bike.

For Newport Volo, it took a visit from the vet to bring out his true potential. The Yankee Glide son, a $92,000 yearling purchase at last fall’s Lexington Select sale, is now co-owned by Gillis and Jamieson. “We bought him with high expectations,” Gillis says, “then over the winter we had low expectations because he really didn’t grow very much, and he was really studdy and wouldn’t concentrate. But after we castrated him, we started to like him again. We’ve been patient and he’s turning into a pretty nice colt.”

Newport Volo was first in a division of the Bridger series in August, second in another, and fourth in the final, but on Sunday night he will be up against the very well-regarded Il Villaggio, who has captured a $200,000 New Jersey Sires Stakes event for trainer Erv Miller and goes into the Champlain rated at 6-5. He does, however, have post position No. 2 going for him, as well as the talents of Jamieson at the lines.

The Champlain Stakes, for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings, is carded as Races 3, 5, and 7 on Mohawk’s Sunday night roster. Post time for the first division is 8:10 p.m.

To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click here.

(WEG)