Friday night’s three-year-old trotting filly Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots event at Georgian Downs is a make-or-break affair for a number of youngsters hoping to make a last minute leap into the post season

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Among the hopefuls is local filly Windsong Felicity, who is ranked 23rd in the divisional standings with a total of 62 points. The top 16 advance to the October 25 Grassroots Semifinal and the fillies tied for 16th currently have 83 points.

"A win and I’m in, a second I’ve got to cross my fingers, and a third I’m out," said trainer Michael Sinclair of Windsong Felicity’s chances at a post-season berth.

The daughter of Via Blaze will make her bid for a top two finish from Post 6 in the fifth race. Among the fillies she will face are fifth-ranked Senorita Conchnita from Post 4 and divisional leader Stonebridge Diva from Post 4.

"In the long run, she’s paid for and I’ll have a nice four-year-old," said the Cookstown, Ont. resident, philosophically. "When she won in Sarnia (Hiawatha Horse Park on July 2) it was the fastest division by four-fifths of a second that day, and she’s trotted Mohawk in 1:56.4."

Windsong Felicity caught Sinclair’s eye in a June 12 leg of the City of London Trotting Series at Western Fair Raceway. Watching a friend’s horse compete in the same race, Sinclair was impressed with Windsong Felicity’s recovery from an early break that saw her spot the field more than 20 lengths and then come on to finish fifth. When he realised the filly was entered in the June 14 Spring Fling Mixed Sale, he decided she was worth a second look.

"We watched her on the computer, my wife and I, we were watching a friend’s horse and she made a break and spotted the field then finished fifth," Sinclair recalled. "I said, 'that horse is in the sale, I’m going to go look at her.'

"We bought her, she won the City of London final, then won in the next Grassroots in Sarnia, and she was paid for," he added.

Steve Organ of Aurora, Ont. and Rosemary Shelswell of Cookstown signed the papers on the youngster for $35,000, and were delighted to see her earn it back so quickly, but since that early burst of success, their return on investment has been significantly lower.

"She ran into some problems in the summer," said Sinclair, who spent months trying to pinpoint the problem. "It’s too bad we found out so late what was wrong with her.

"If they could talk this would be an easy business," he added with a laugh.

Windsong Felicity’s last two starts have seen the filly return to the form that caught Sinclair’s eye in June. She finished third in Grassroots action at Kawartha Downs on September 19 and then delivered a closing sixth-place effort in an October 4 overnight at Mohawk Racetrack.

"She finished third at Kawartha, and she was locked in her last start, but she was back to her old self," noted the horseman.

Windsong Felicity’s connections will not be the only ones with their fingers crossed on Friday as the sophomore trotting fillies make a last effort to extend their Grassroots season. Georgian Downs will feature the fillies in Races 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9, with the Innisfil oval’s first race going postward at 7:25 p.m.

Click here to view the Friday harness racing entries at Georgian Downs.

(OSS)