Prior to her 2010 pari-mutuel debut earlier this week at Woodbine Racetrack, Theta Blue Chip's owner/trainer, Gord Irwin, explained why the $105,000 yearling missed a great deal of her two-year-old season, and injury was not the

culprit.

"She never had an injury," Irwin explained to Chad Rozema during the Woodbine Entertainment Group's Race Night on The Score program. "I took her up to Dr. Ruch and she had a just a little hairline (fracture), like a growth thing. He said I could go on and race her and that she would likely be all right, but right after that [she] got a fungus on all four legs -- it just blew all four legs up just like a stovepipe. I then had to hand-walk her for three months, so that's where the problem was. It might (turn out to) be a good thing, as she was a two-year-old."

Those that watched Theta Blue Chip's effort at Woodbine on Monday, April 26 would probably say that Irwin's decision is proving to be a wise one. After leaving from Post 4, driver Paul MacDonell angled the daughter of Western Terror out wide before having to go first over as the field straightened for home. When shown a clear lane, MacDonell flipped the switch and the filly came home well within herself, as she sprinted off to a three-length win in a life's best 1:55.4.

Irwin was quick to give credit to those which have played a key role with the filly's maturation. The 71-year-old resident of Cobourg, Ont. gave praise to MacDonell as well as a horseman that he used to work with directly for a good period of time.

"She's done well getting over the greenness, and that is thanks to the man that has helped me with her down in Florida, Peter Wardlaw, from Lindsay (Little Britain, Ont. to be exact)," Irwin explained. "Pete had worked with me for about six years and he was an excellent horseman. He needs the credit for getting her to where she is right now. He took the patience and time, but she's come along well. I had Paul come down and qualify her and she qualified well."

In terms of the filly's dance card for the rest of the season, Irwin said that he is first pointing her to one of WEG's biggest stakes events and will then look beyond.

"We'll stay in this series (the Ontario-Sired Spring Series) as long as she stays healthy, and then we have the Golds (an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event) coming up in London," he said. "I'm not sure if we'll go to London (Western Fair Raceway) or not with her, because we have Bigtime Ball in the same night, so I'll be talking to Paul about that. After that it'll be the Golds and the Fan Hanover and then whatever else I have for her."

When asked whether Theta Blue Chip would be his next stable star, Irwin didn't get ahead of himself or the filly.

"I've had Invitro and now Bigtime Ball. The stars have hit me; the lightning has hit me. If she becomes a nice racehorse I would be happy. You know what this game is. When you buy them at the sale you take your chances, and that's what it is."

A pair of $20,000 second-leg divisions of the Ontario-Sired Spring Series has been drawn for Woodbine's Monday, May 3 live card. Theta Blue Chip has drawn Post 5 in the second division (Race 3), which is scheduled to go to post at roughly 8:02 p.m.

To view Woodbine's harness racing entries for Monday, click here.