Horseman Rick Zeron knows a little something about conditioning high-end trotters for Woodbine Entertainment Group raceways, and he's gone on the record with WEG's publicity arm regarding a brown gelding which he hopes could eventually be one of the best on the circuit

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When Zeron returns home Thursday evening after attending his Oakville Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the horseman will be hoping to see that E W Fisher fared well in the $35,000 second leg of the Don Mills Trotting Series at Woodbine.

The 2011 General Brock winner has eight wins and one third-place finish in 17 lifetime starts, with $80,960 in career earnings for owners Lise Lang of Port Perry and Saul Mendelson of Montreal.

The five-year-old son of Fool Me Not--La Delicatesse has had his share of bad luck. Last March, E W Fisher developed a bad suspensory in his left hind, which put him on the sidelines for just over nine months.

Since returning in January, E W Fisher has had three starts, with one win by a neck in 1:54.3. His recent eighth (placed seventh) finish in the opening round of the Don Mills proved again that luck just wasn’t on the trotter’s side.

Zeron noted E W Fisher had tied-up and after having received a clean bill of health from the veterinarian, he is back to his old self.

“We are going to train him today (February 14),” he noted. “But he is coming into the race really good. The first leg, I’ll just throw out. That was just a bad race. He will bounce back and give me a good performance on Thursday.”

In Zeron’s absence, the veteran horseman has enlisted the services of driver Jason Brewer. The resident of Oakville, Ont. has one simple instruction for his new driver.

“Try not to be on top,” quipped Zeron. “He will probably get away eighth with him and be third over and if he kicks the way he is suppose to kick coming for home, he’ll be one or two.”

Zeron has high hopes for the brown gelding.

“If he continues, he will probably be an Open trotter this summer,” he said. “He is real fast. He will probably trot around 1:52, 1:53. He is a high-end trotter, just getting into himself. He doesn’t have very many starts lifetime, so the more he is going to get raced over the winter and spring, will develop him into being a top trotter for the summer time.”

E W Fisher will leave Post 8 in the eighth race, the second of three divisions.

The $75,000 final of the Don Mills, for four and five-year-old trotters in 2012, non-winners of $150,000 lifetime as of midnight, December 31, 2011, is set for Monday, February 27.

To view the harness racing entries for Thursday at Woodbine, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Woodbine Racetrack.

(WEG)