Rideau Carleton Raceway plays host to the province’s top two-year-old trotting colts on Friday evening, and it will be standing room only as fans flock to the Ottawa oval to see undefeated local colt Buckhams Bay attempt a

fifth straight victory.

Bred and raised northwest of Ottawa in Woodlawn, Ont. by John Smith, Buckhams Bay has been outstanding through his first four starts. The son of Ken Warkentin and Smith’s great broodmare Merles Image swept through his Gold elimination and the Gold final in the season opener at Mohawk Racetrack on July 12 and 19, and then repeated the feat at Grand River Raceway on July 28 and August 4.

Following the colt’s impressive August 4 victory, Smith sold Buckhams Bay to Courant AB of Halmstad, Sweden. The new owners have chosen to leave the gifted trotter in Smith’s care and the veteran trainer will send him after win number five from Post 5 in the second $40,000 Gold elimination on Friday.

“I had so many calls about this horse it was unbelievable. I had calls from everywhere, the phone never stopped ringing,” said Smith, still awestruck by the sheer number of potential buyers that came out of the woodwork soon after the colt’s first start. “It caught me by surprise. I couldn’t believe how many people knew about this horse so quick.”

Aside from the ownership line on his papers, nothing has changed for Buckhams Bay, who will follow the same training regimen heading into Friday’s contest that led him to the winner’s circle in his first four races. Both Smith and driver Jacques Hebert remain confident in the colt’s ability and are committed to doing their best for his new owners.

“I’m not someone who gets real cocky,” says the down-to-earth Smith, who has spent his life training difficult horses from a wide variety of equine disciplines. “But I am confident in the horse, and I am confident I can do a good job with him.

“I’ll try to make them as much money as I can,” he added. “If they’re not happy, it’s their horse. If they weren’t happy I would want them to take him.”

Hebert has driven for Smith for years, including stints behind Buckhams Bay’s successful half-siblings, $1.1 million winner McCooeye and $337,914 winner Merles Pearl, and the Saint-Laurent, Que. resident has no trouble coming up with a list of the colt’s positive attributes.

“He’s a very handy horse. He’s not too hard to handle. All he wants to do is go,” said Hebert. “For a two-year-old, it’s not too often you can have a trotter like that.

“He’s a very, very tough horse. He seems to have really good breath,” added the Hall of Fame horseman. “At the end of the race it’s just like you went for a normal jog. He is a very strong horse.”

Buckhams Bay demonstrated his strength in the August 4 Gold final at Grand River where he sat on the outside through the entire mile and was still able to out-muscle rival Plato through the stretch to secure a half-length victory in 1:59.1. The youngster logged his personal best in his first start, on July 12 at Mohawk, where he hit the wire in 1:57.2.

Hebert and Buckhams Bay face a field of seven in Friday’s fourth race, and fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the pair in action should arrive early as the colt’s local entourage is sizeable.

“I’ve got a big family, I’m in the middle of 11 kids, sixth from either end,” said Smith, with a chuckle. “I imagine a lot of them will be out, plus all the nieces and nephews.”

The top four finishers from each elimination, plus one fifth-place finisher selected by random draw, will return to Rideau Carleton Raceway for the August 27 Gold final. Friday’s Gold eliminations are slated as Races 2 and 4, with the Ottawa oval’s first race parading onto the track at 6:30 p.m.

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(OSS)