With time running out to enter the 2022 COSA Fantasy Stable Contest, trainer Nick Gallucci has chosen a stable and shared a little insight behind a few of his selections.

“I went with James [MacDonald] in Group A,” said the 2021 runner-up for Canada’s Trainer of the Year title. “He’s getting all the best horses to drive these days and he’s driving better than anyone too… and I can’t go against him at this point anyway,” he laughed.

“I also took Austin Sorrie as one of my drivers. He drove a bunch of two-year-olds last year that were good Grassrooters and I think some of them could prove to be Gold horses at three. I really like that Cold Creek Queso horse he drives. He got DQ’d in his SBOA elimination the other night but the horse raced great in there. Murray Brethour always does a great job with young horses too so I took that colt further down my list as well [Group M].

“With trainers I had to take Bob McIntosh in the third group,” Gallucci said, with admiration in his voice. “In my opinion, he’s the best trainer in the history of the sport and I’m expecting him to have a big bounce-back year this year.

“I took Sunshine Beach and Big Jim as my pacing sires because they both had big years with their two-year-olds last year, and I tried Lookslikeachpndale because I have one that I really like [Looks Like Game On in Group DD] and I’ve heard other people say that they like theirs too. And I had to take Muscle Mass… he’s the king up here and until he gets dethroned, I just have to take him.

“I took Safe Conduct in one of the trotting colt divisions [Group R]. He didn’t make a lot of money last year but the Christoforous are sharp… they don’t push them very hard at two but that colt showed some ability and they’ll usually have them ready for a big three-year-old year if they’re any good.

“I also took Blake MacIntosh’s filly, Clockwork Orange, because she actually caught my eye on the track the other night at Mohawk when I was out warming up. She looks like she has a very nice gait on her. 

“With a few of the two-year-old groups, I was able to take ones that I was somewhat familiar with. I was the under-bidder on Bettor Bea Terror [Group Y] and my top choice of any Ontario-sired yearling last year was Star So Bright, but she brought a quarter-million [dollars] and that was a bit too dear for us,” Gallucci laughed. “Mac Nichol bought her from Brittany Farms so she’ll be dual-eligible. I’m not sure who's training her but if she makes it, I wonder if they’ll race her more in Ontario or Kentucky… they’re both good programs."

FREE to enter, with prizes for the top 20 finishers and a Grand Prize worth $4,000, entries for the third annual COSA Fantasy Stable close at 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday, May 20.

“I love these fantasy stable pools you guys run," said Gallucci. "I wasn’t going to put a team into this one this year because I figured I might have an advantage, but since you asked me to do this, I figured why not? I think it’s a great way to get people to follow the [Ontario] Sires Stakes program a lot more closely. Who knows, but maybe after playing along, they’ll go out and buy in on a yearling of their own this fall.”

To enter the 2022 COSA Fantasy Stable Contest, click the following link: 2022 COSA Fantasy Stable Entry Form.

Gallucci's full selections are available below.

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STABLE NAME: NGstable

Group A - Drivers 1

JAMES MACDONALD

Group B - Drivers 2

LOUIS-PHILIPPE ROY

Group C - Drivers 3

AUSTIN SORRIE

Group D - Trainers 1

NICK GALLUCCI

Group E - Trainers 2

DR. IAN MOORE

Group F - Trainers 3

BOB MCINTOSH

Group G - Pacing Sires 1

SUNSHINE BEACH

Group H - Pacing Sires 2

BIG JIM

Group I -  Trotting Sires 1

MUSCLE MASS

Group J - Trotting Sires 2

LOOKSLIKEACHPNDALE

Group K - 3YO PACING COLTS 1 (with 2021 earnings)

BETTERHAVEMYMONEY ($335,474)

Group L - 3YO PACING COLTS 2

AVIATOR ($108,209)

Group M - 3YO PACING COLTS 3

COLD CREEK QUESO ($50,012)

Group N - 3YO PACING FILLIES 1

PROHIBITION LEGAL ($564,204)

Group O - 3YO PACING FILLIES 2

DEWITT FOR JOSIE ($57,425)

Group P - 3YO PACING FILLIES 3

IN THE MOOD ($54,237)

Group Q - 3YO TROTTING COLTS 1

TWIN B ARCHIE ($285,016)

Group R - 3YO TROTTING COLTS 2

SAFE CONDUCT ($37,266)

Group S - 3YO TROTTING COLTS 3

ARMSTEAD COLE ($59,830)

Group T - 3YO TROTTING FILLIES 1

RESOLVING ($123,990)

Group U - 3YO TROTTING FILLIES 2

CLOCKWORK ORANGE ($69,053)

Group V - 3YO TROTTING FILLIES 3

LILYS LASS ($42,772)

Group W - 2YO PACING COLTS 1 (in order by auction price)

URIKA BLUE CHIP ($130,000)

Group X - 2YO PACING COLTS 2

FULL HORSE ($110,000)

Group Y - 2YO PACING COLTS 3

BETTOR BEA TERROR ($82,000)

Group Z - 2YO PACING FILLIES 1

STAR SO BRIGHT ($250,000)

Group AA - 2YO PACING FILLIES 2

CENTURY JACQUELINE ($75,000)

Group BB - 2YO PACING FILLIES 3

PA DELIGHT ($70,000)

Group CC - 2YO TROTTING COLTS 1

KNOWN AGENDA ($225,000)

Group DD - 2YO TROTTING COLTS 2

LOOKS LIKE GAME ON ($77,000)

Group EE - 2YO TROTTING COLTS 3

OSCEOLA ($70,000)

Group FF - 2YO TROTTING FILLIES 1

BARONESS HILL ($260,000)

Group GG - 2YO TROTTING FILLIES 2

LOOKSSOGOODINLOVE ($70,000)

Group HH - 2YO TROTTING FILLIES 3

MISS MONICA B ($60,000)