“I’m confident in both of my horses but there are some really good horses in there too, it’s up to them to show us what they’ve got.”

With two contenders in the Confederation Cup eliminations at Flamboro Downs this coming Sunday, trainer Jeff Bamond has his eyes on the prize. Bettorever will see the track in the first elimination, drawing post position four while stablemate Ideal Cowboy will leave from the three hole in the second.

Bettorever is a newly minted member of Bamond’s stable, spending his two- and three-year-old seasons under the care of Trond Smedshammer. Putting in only four starts at two, Smedshammer brought him back this time last year for a consistent sophomore campaign.

“He was lightly raced but I saw Trond did a good job bringing him along slowly. He had some really good miles on the half, showed his talent and speed so I thought he could learn how to race a bit,” Bamond told Trot Insider on Thursday.

“Trond was smart in bringing him along slow as it seemed to be best for him; he had some talent and wanted to protect him.”

The son of Bettors Delight has already put in ten starts in 2015, finishing no worse than third and setting a new mark of 1:50.4 over the Meadowlands. Having spent the majority of his career racing on a half-mile track, transitioning to Flamboro shouldn’t pose an issue for him.

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t handle it perfectly. He was really good at Yonkers and Monticello which is not an easy track to get around for a horse.”

Bettorever comes off a start on May 2 at the Meadowlands where he was bested by a nose by stablemate Ideal Cowboy. Pacing his mile in 1:49.2, Corey Callahan brought the gelding home in 26 seconds.

“He was really great in that race. He seems to always need an extra ten feet, he’d have at least six wins so far this year if he had it! He came out of it good and I’m confident in him.

“I just hope (on Sunday) he gets away good, gets a good run and a good mile. I can’t control the way the eliminations were drawn, I can just hope for the best.”

Still early in the season, the calendar hasn’t been firmed up for Bettorever just yet.

“We’ll take it easy with him after this. He’s paid into some things at the end of the season and he’ll get a break in the middle of the season.”

Ideal Cowboy has only sixteen starts lifetime but has already shown flashes of brilliance in his four-year-old campaign, sweeping the Whata Baron final at the Meadowlands in 1:49.2.

“He’s been really good so far, he seems to just be getting his feet under him for the season. I was really impressed with how he went last start.”

The American Ideal gelding was shut down for the season last year at the end of June, following an injury in New York Sires Stakes action at Buffalo Raceway.

“He cut himself in at Buffalo last year and he could have come back a lot earlier, but I thought it would be better to let it set and heal right. We weren’t really sure how he would come back after that but he did just like he was training last year before it happened. We were really happy with that and so far he’s rewarding us for that extra time off.”

Though he hasn’t seen a half-mile as frequently as Bettorever, Bamond isn’t concerned.

“He goes nicely over a half-mile. He handles Yonkers well and if you want to be in New York Sire Stakes, you better be able to handle a half!

“After the Confederation Cup, he’s paid into the Prix D’Ete but for the most part he’s going to be an overnight horse for us. We’re going to pick and choose our spots for the remainder of his four year old season.”

Bamond has seen his share of success working with trainer P.J. Fraley over the last two and a half years, before taking over training duties entirely for his father's Bamond Racing Stable.

“It’s been a smooth transition, so far so good. I don’t really have much pressure as I don’t plan on firing myself, so that helps!”

Only five months into his first training season, Bamond already boasts a record of 48-45-51 in 284 starts with earnings just shy of $1.3 million dollars.

Post time for Sunday’s 11-race card at Flamboro Downs, featuring the Confederation Cup eliminations, is 6:00 p.m. The full fields for the $20,000 eliminations are as follows:

First Elimination – Race 5

1. National Debt (Chris Christoforou) – 2-1
2. Three Of Clubs (Doug McNair) – 9-2
3. P L Hellcat (James MacDonald) – 10-1
4. Bettorever (Corey Callahan) – 5-2
5. All Bets Off (Yannick Gingras) – 7-2
6. Big Boy Dreams (Sylvain Filion) – 8-1
7. Boomboom Ballykeel (Trevor Henry) – 15-1
8. Mattamerican (Jody Jamieson) – 12-1

Second Elimination – Race 10

1. Limelight Beach (Yannick Gingras) – 8-5
2. Luck Be Withyou (James MacDonald) – 7-2
3. Ideal Cowboy (Corey Callahan) – 5-2
4. Somewhere Fancy (Doug McNair) – 10-1
5. Nirvana Seelster (Jody Jamieson) – 12-1
6. Lets Drink On It (Tyler Smith) – 6-1
7. Vance Bayama (Sylvain Filion) – 8-1
8. Melmerby Beach (Paul MacDonell) – 9-2

(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Hannah Beckett)