As Ontario’s talented three-year-old pacing fillies prepare for their Saturday, June 19 Grassroots event at Flamboro Downs, local trainer Don Graham is hoping to extend his

lucky streak with offspring from broodmare Armbro Brio.

In June 2009 the Lynden, ON resident claimed a mare named Grace And Harv from her breeder Douglas Beckett. Grace And Harv bloomed in Graham’s care, earning almost $17,000 before being claimed by another trainer in August. The veteran horseman liked the daughter of Armbro Brio and Dexter Nukes so much that he claimed her half-sister June The Third in July 2009, resulting in a new lifetime mark for the filly by August.

The trainer-driver’s success with Armbro Brio’s daughters did not go unnoticed by Beckett, and when the Tara, ON resident was shopping for a trainer for the mare’s three-year-old daughter Francis this spring, Graham was tops on his list.

“I had to claim two horses to get one to train,” says Graham wryly. “I claimed Grace And Harv, then I claimed June The Third, and now I’ve got Francis.”

Francis made her first sophomore appearance in a May 21 qualifier at Flamboro Downs, where Graham piloted her to a second-place finish in 1:58.2. Back at Flamboro in an overnight event on May 26, Francis and driver Simon Allard were effortless five length winners in a smart 1:56.4.

The Grassroots season opener for the three-year-old pacing fillies came over the sharp turns of the Dresden Raceway oval on June 6, and Francis proved her provincial bona fides by crafting a 1:58.2 front end victory from Post 6.

“She left great, she has good gate speed,” explains Graham. “And she’ll relax when she gets to the front. Simon said she was very handy in her last start. She left hard and came right back.”

What Graham calls a “plain Jane,” Francis wears very little in the way of equipment and is easy to work around. Her only quirk is an entrenched distaste for speed before lunch.

“She is not a good trainer. If you turn her the right way [of the track] she is not happy,” says the horseman. “But at the gate she changes, she’s all business.”

To accommodate the filly’s preference for a leisurely morning workout, Graham makes sure she hits the paddock right after breakfast and logs some serious miles in the jog cart. Between her Grassroots appearances, the odd overnight and a few other stakes engagements, the trainer figures Francis will have more than enough work this summer to keep her fit.

“She’ll have enough races to keep her tight,” he notes. “If she stays sound and healthy, she might make some noise on the Grassroots. She’s a good size, she has a nice long gait, and she likes racing.”

Francis and Allard will make their bid for a third straight victory from Post 4 in the fifth race on Saturday, and Graham is expecting another solid effort from the Apaches Fame miss.

“I expect her to race well,” he says. “The four is a real nice post, it’s a good spot, and she’s got real good gate speed.”

Francis’s division is one of 11 Grassroots contests at the Dundas oval on Saturday, each one worth $24,000. Also featured on the program is the $120,000 Final of the Ellamony Stake for pacing mares, which features world record holder Dreamfair Eternal and former Ontario Sires Stakes stars To Helen Back and Voelz Hanover.

The sophomore pacing fillies will set the stage for their older peers in Races 1 through 11, with the mares taking over the spotlight in Race 12. Post time for the talent laden Saturday, June 19 card of harness racing at Flamboro Downs is 1 p.m.

To view Saturday's entries, click here.

(OSS)