Ontario’s two-year-old pacing fillies wrap up their Grassroots season at Flamboro Downs on Wednesday, and trainer Lowell Brown is hoping Jenna Casimir has better luck over her local oval than she did in her first Grassroots test

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"I tried her in the Grassroots at Woodstock," recalls the Brantford resident. "She had the seven hole on a rainy, rainy day, and she got a little scared of the crowd and made a bobble."

Jenna Casimir finished seventh in that August 22 event, well back of the leaders, but since then she has delivered a series of solid performances in overnight action at Mohawk Racetrack. Competing against her freshman peers the Sir Luck miss delivered a pair of runner-up finishes on August 27 and September 3, then logged a fifth against older horses on September 10. Her last start saw Jenna Casimir finish eighth in the non-winners of one race class, but Brown says the young pacer was under the weather.

"I gave her some time off, then thought I’d start her back up and give her one more crack at the Grassroots," says the horseman, who also owns the filly. "If it doesn’t go well, then we’ll see you in 2010."

Jenna Casimir will take her second swing at the Grassroots from Post 3 in the second race, and Brown expects the competition to be stiff. Among the fillies Jenna Casimir and regular reinsman Bradley Harris will face are Misty Moonstone, who finished third in the October 7 Gold Final at Windsor Raceway, division leader Windsong Gentille and two-time Grassroots winner All Chocolate. Windsong Gentille gets Post 2, All Chocolate will start from Post 6, and Misty Moonstone will be handicapped by the outside Post 8.

"The three-hole is the best hole to get off the gate there, if you do leave," notes Brown. "But she’s in tough there."

Brown acquired Jenna Casimir from last year’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale for just $4,700. Her two third-place efforts have recouped $4,930. The horseman says the filly caught his eye because of her attitude and her breeding.

"I have a Sir Luck colt, Casimir Hotshot, he’s the fastest Sir Luck there is to date, so I thought I’d try another Casimir horse," he explains. "She was high spirited little thing in the show ring, and she looked the part."

Since she arrived in his barn, Brown says the filly has not given him a moment’s trouble.

"The Sir Luck’s are really intelligent to break. I line drove her one day, and she was solo in the cart the first day," he recalls. "She’s had no issues, she’s all business. And sick or no, she always has an appetite."

Brown hopes the filly can wrap up her freshman campaign with a strong Grassroots performance on Wednesday. The two-year-old pacing fillies square off in Races 2, 4, 5, 9 and 10 on the Flamboro Downs program, which gets under way at 1 p.m.

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To view Wednesday’s harness racing entries, click here.