Trot Insider continues to profile the horses predicted to be the top contenders for Canadian harness racing's richest prize, the 2020 Pepsi North America Cup.

This year's edition of the North America Cup was originally slated to be contested on Saturday, June 20 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. On Wednesday, Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson announced the race would be postponed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the viral outbreak, TROT Magazine compiled its annual ranking of the horses expected to be in contention for the 2020 Pepsi North America Cup.

Continuing the countdown, Odds On Osiris comes at #9 in TROT Magazine's 2020 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book at odds of 28-1.

The son of Rockin Image-Antigua Hanover thrived while racing mainly at Hoosier Park. Through 10 starts at two, Odds On Osiris visited the winner’s circle seven times and hit the board in all but one, earning $343,895 for Dana Parham’s Odds On Racing. The Melanie Wrenn trainee's victories came namely in Indiana Sires Stakes competition, including a two-length win in the $270,000 Super Final before capping his season with a victory in a division of the Madison Stakes.

Trot Insider discussed the Indiana Sires Stakes champ with Peter Wrenn, the colt’s driver and winter conditioner, during his training in Florida.

How many horses do you have down in Florida?

"We have 31 at the moment."

How are you and your people handling the COVID-19 pandemic?

"Well here’s what we’re dealing with: most of them are here at the farm; it’s a big farm. Daily we try not to mingle too much with other people as far as other stables, but on the same token we’ve all been in the same area all winter. So whatever’s been done been done. Everybody’s taking care of themselves, trying to do the proper thing. But, meanwhile, we’re like America...we’re not here to slow down. We’re going forward and we’re not going to let it bother us too bad, even though we’re trying to do the right things. We want to go forward with racing, we want to go forward with the economy and do the best we can with our young horses."

Any scares, any individuals down there who are questionable or is everything good?

"We’ve been fortunate. I do know there has been a lot more testing, and we’re hearing more from the testing. So when you hear testing you’re going to come up with positives. I feel like we’re doing more testing than anywhere in the world, so you’re going to have more positives comes up.

"As we know, we’ve had some very sad stories...and close to us, too, in the horse [racing] industry. That’s just stuff we can’t get out of our minds. But on the same token, I’m sure there’s been a lot of people who’ve fought it and have gone forward. But the sad stories we’re hearing are just devastating. But we’ve got to know to be strong and I believe that we’re going to win this battle and I believe we’re going to be back racing. We’re not going to get slowed down; I think we’re going forward."

Did Odds On Osiris go to Florida when he was done with his stakes at Hoosier in October?

"We went to Kentucky, and he was brought in I think the second or third week of December. He was a big colt last year-- growthy, maybe some unbalanced points. When he came in he just looked like a more mature colt; more balanced. When I’m looking at him daily he’s just growing out more. Like you just hope that they do, and he is. He is coming back very strong. I just couldn’t be any happier."

So did you start back with him in the bike in December?

"Yes. December, I think we jogged him through the holidays and so forth. He’s had a very good winter without being beat up, and he’s put massive weight. Size, good gaited...we extended the hopples. You know all the stuff that you kind of like with a two-coming-three-year-old. We stretched him out a little bit, not stretch him but just let him pace off for the first time. And the next day he was very happy about it, it was almost like he was stronger. He’s just a nice horse, a very, very nice horse. And he earned his way there. And sometimes a horse makes money at two, and sometimes if they’re something a little fancy you’ll think ‘ah that’s a nice one’, but he proved to me that he’s a good horse."

I noticed he wasn't made eligible to the Somebeachsomewhere.

"We didn’t want to be going against the same horses constantly. We’ve got a good program in the Midwest with us. The whole plan was [that] we don’t need to be in week in and week out against them; we don’t have anything to prove. We’ll just jump in, win the North America Cup and leave."

What stakes is he eligible aside from the North America Cup?

"We did not go the Meadowlands Pace...we did not go to the [Max] Hempt. But pretty much everything surrounding it he’s eligible to. We went out into the big boys just a few times, and hopefully he earns his spot. They are great races, and maybe after the Cup we’ll be glad we didn’t do it, or wish we would’ve, one of the two. I believe that he’s a nice-enough horse to get out there a ways, and he was a big earner last year and he never left the state lines. So if we can do that again, or if he’s competitive then we’ve got a good horse, that’s another thing. He’s just got a lot of speed; he’s a nice horse."

All his starts at two came on two-turn tracks. What’s he like on tracks that aren’t two turns?

"I never had to worry about it. I would have to think he’s fine. If they say you’ve got to go to a half or five-eighths once otherwise you can’t race the rest of the year I think we could do it, but we didn’t stake it to that. We’ll have Mohawk...beautiful track, I’m guessing he’ll fit that thing nicely, but him and many others also. There’s a lot of nice horses; there’s some really nice two-year-olds coming back at three, but I think he fits in there. I really do. I’m not ashamed of him whatsoever going up there, and if he tells us later that he’s not then he’s not but I really believe he is."

What makes him such a solid competitor?

"I don’t know what makes him good, he’s just a good colt, there’s no doubt about it. He goes under the wire like a nice horse, he carries his speed a long ways. And he’s got good race manners."

At what point at two did you think this is a horse that could be a Grand Circuit horse?

"You know we drew bad in his first two stakes. I took a notice that he was a little bit different than the rest. But then again qualifying in June and sticking around late in the day is two different things. We’ve seen and had a lot of flash in the pans, but he was just a little different style.

"In his first two starts he had drawn bad in big fields, and I was in the back just constantly pacing at the end with a lot of pace. When the Fox Stakes came up I threw him in there, there’s some good same-type horses. And I told Dana, the owner, I said ‘I don’t care what we draw, we’re going home a winner in that race.’ And we drew the nine hole again but he was prepared just because he was getting stronger every start. Those first two starts we drew bad, I just didn’t have racing room. He’s not a stupid horse; he’s got a good mouth on him.

"So I went into the Fox, had the nine hole or whatever it was, and he soared. Won easy in a track record time or something, and from there he proved himself to be a good horse. He had good race manners. And the horse being strong, coming out of the race good every week, has good manners along with speed, that makes good race horses. Knock on wood, he never sat down under the wire. If you asked him, he went. This year at this point, I really couldn’t be any happier.

"He wasn’t beat up, he was well cared for, never got his heart broken. I’m happy and I’m really excited about him. I’m a believer in this horse a lot. He was one of the fastest two-year-olds and one of the top money earners. We know he never saw the wars, and a lot of people think the Midwest wouldn’t be that strong but I think in the past there’s been a few Midwest contenders hasn’t there?"