Rideau Carleton Raceway handicappers have assigned Majestic Mountains the longest odds of the competitors in the second two-year-old trotting filly Grassroots event

on Friday evening, but facing down overwhelming odds is something the youngster has been doing since birth.

“She was very disappointing at birth,” says breeder Catherine Stewart of Carp, ON. “She was an over-large foal and she was premature.”

“She looked like a duck walking when she was born,” continues her partner Kevin Davidson. “I wasn’t sure she’d ever straighten up.”

The filly’s unprepossessing arrival was doubly disappointing for the couple, as she was the first foal from their mare North To Alaska, a multiple Ontario Sires Stakes winner during her two and three-year-old seasons (2002-03) who went on to earn $353,696 before she retired. Fortunately, Majestic Mountains’ legs straightened as she grew, and when it came time to learn her early lessons Davidson discovered that she was a quick learner.

“She’s still a big filly, but she stands okay behind,” notes Davidson, who owns and trains the youngster. “She’s really, really good in the barn. She’s easy to teach and she learns quick.”

Majestic Mountains made steady progress through the winter and early spring, and in May, with two-year-old qualifiers on the horizon, Davidson decided to take the filly to Rideau Carleton for a practice run. Unfortunately, the Angus Hall lass made her first ever break and severed an artery in her pastern while she was off stride. The artery was quickly repaired, but the filly was laid up for a month while it healed and missed the learning experiences offered by the freshman qualifiers.

With the pastern healed and Majestic Mountains back on a regular training schedule, Davidson entered her to qualify at Rideau Carleton on July 8. In rein to Kyle Forgie, the filly toured the Ottawa oval in 2:05.3, and Davidson decided to take a shot at the Grassroots season opener on July 14 at Grand River Raceway.

“She qualified in 2:05.3, back half in 1:01, so I thought I’d take her to the first Grassroots event, but she just didn’t have the experience,” recalls the Carp, ON resident. “That month cost us the experience she needed to travel to the first one.”

Starting from Post 2 at the Grand River oval, Majestic Mountains sat fourth through much of the mile, but when driver Scott Coulter sent her up the outside at the three-quarter pole she failed to navigate the final turn and lost 14 lengths, trotting under the wire in seventh.

Davidson says a similar fate befell the filly and driver Forgie in a July 23 overnight at Rideau Carleton. Tipped to the outside at the three-quarters to take aim on the leaders, the novice trotter went off stride and faded from second back to eighth.

Forgie will be back in the race bike on Friday, sending the filly after a share of the $24,000 Grassroots purse from Post 7 in Race 4, and Davidson is hoping Majestic Mountains can finally show off the skill he believes she possesses.

“Now that she’s had her experience trips, we’ll see what she’s got,” says the horseman. “I was hoping for something better than the seven-hole, but she’s really, really smart at the starting gate, so I’m sure she’ll be out in the top four, and hopefully she has a horse to follow.”

In spite of all the hurdles Majestic Mountains has had to overcome, Davidson believes she has the ability to mature into a successful racehorse, and he and Stewart would love to see her take the first steps toward that goal over their local oval on Friday.

Post time for Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Friday evening program in 6:30 p.m. and the two-year-old trotting fillies will wage their Grassroots battles in Races 2, 4, 6, and 8.

(O.S.S.)

To view Friday’s entries, click here.