When his three-year-old pacing colts line up behind the starting gate at Grand River Raceway on Friday, Aug. 16 — aiming for their second straight Grassroots victories — owner and regular driver James MacDonald will be 1,700 km away.

The Guelph resident is heading back to Charlottetown, PEI for Old Home Week, but on Friday evening he will be looking for a television tuned in to Grand River Raceway hoping to catch the first and second $18,000 Grassroots divisions. Both Sea Harrier and Pointsman were victorious in the Aug. 9 Grassroots event at Mohawk Racetrack and MacDonald would love to see to see them deliver repeat performances at the Elora half-mile.

Sea Harrier makes his bid for win number two from Post 8 in Race 3. The Jeremes Jet gelding came up with a personal best 1:52.3 effort at Mohawk to capture his first lifetime win for MacDonald and his partners Floyd Marshall of Jarvis and Peter Porter of Port Dover. The win boosted the gelding into fourth spot in the Grassroots standings with 80 points earned through his Aug. 9 win, a second at Georgian Downs on July 27 and a fifth-place result in the season opener at Mohawk on June 21.

Division co-leader Champagne Phil, who is undefeated through the first three legs of the Grassroots regular season, will make his bid for win number four from Post 5 in the third race.

Benjamin Paquette trains both Sea Harrier and Pointsman for MacDonald, Marshall and Porter, and the conditioner will send Pointsman after his fourth win from Post 3 in the fifth race. The Royal Mattjesty colt also rang up a personal best in his Aug. 9 Grassroots victory, stopping the Mohawk teletimer at 1:51.2.

Pointsman started his sophomore campaign at the Gold Series level and missed the July 27 Grassroots event due to sickness, so his connections would love to see him boost his point total with a strong showing at Grand River. Only the top 10 point earners advance to the post season Grassroots Championship and Pointsman currently sits twelfth.

The three-year-old pacing colts will show off their high speed in Races 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10. In between races Grand River Raceway fans will want to enter the Ontario Sires Stakes draw for dinner for four at Mohawk Racetrack on the Sept. 28 Super Final night. The draw will occur following the ninth race.

Grand River Raceway’s first race rolls in behind the starting gate at 7:05 p.m.

(OSS)

To view entries for Friday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Friday Entries – Grand River Raceway.