This time last year, the buzz heading into the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup was all about one colt from Bible Hill, Nova Scotia

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This year’s candidate, Keep It Real, may not quite have the resume of the 2008 champion, Somebeachsomewhere – but his early results on the track have made him a worthy champion of maritime pride going into North America’s richest harness race.

Owner Wayne Whebby, of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is no stranger to spotting pacing talent. His Feelin Friskie, a son of Artiscape, was second to Total Truth in the 2006 edition of the North America Cup and earned over $800,000 in his career, and in 2007 Watta Hotshot, another Artiscape son, was third to Tell All. Whebby forked out $45,000 for the son of Real Artist and Magical Leah (by Magical Mike) at the 2007 Harrisburg yearling sale, twice what he paid for his previous two candidates – but the colt has shown plenty of promise, even if he hasn’t yet had all that many chances to show it off.

Whebby sent Keep It Real on four qualifying trips around Truro’s half-mile oval as a two-year-old, with son Marc at the controls. But a foot abscess in late July prevented the colt from making any pari-mutuel starts as a freshman.

“We were really high on him,” Whebby says. “He showed a lot of talent. But he got an infection in his foot, and while it resolved fairly quickly, by the time we got him sound again it was getting late in the year, so we just turned him out.”

It’s been a different story this spring, however. Under the tutelage of Emmons MacKay, Keep It Real took charge in his first start at Truro, on May 10, and sailed to a four-and-a-half length victory in 2:00.2. A week later, he repeated the feat, but left his competition over 24 lengths in the dust, stopping the timers in 1:58.4. And a week after that, having taken a trailer ride to Ontario and getting comfortable in the shedrow of Waterdown, Ontario’s Joey Shea, Keep It Real stepped onto Mohawk’s expansive 7/8 mile oval and produced a stalking trip to win a $17,000 condition event in 1:54.4, with a blistering :26.3 finale quarter.

All told, Keep It Real has delivered four wins in four lifetime starts as of this writing, and has improved on his lifetime clocking with each effort. On June 1, he lowered it again, to 1:52.3, with Steve Condren at the controls in another $17,000 condition race at Mohawk. In the process, he bettered Ideal Race, another North America Cup eligible sent out by trainer Tracy Brainard, by two lengths.

Says Whebby, “It’s not hard to tell if you have a good one. They have that extra turn of speed that Feelin Friskie had. Keep It Real had impressed us enough that we thought we’d try him in Toronto, although he’s not a big colt and he gets around a half mile just fine too.”

Whebby singles out Steve Elliott trainee, Well Said, as the main threat in this year’s North America Cup field. “He’s got a really nice colt there. He might be a step ahead of everyone else.

“We really haven’t got any idea how good Keep It Real is yet. We’re hoping he’s good enough to go with this year’s crop (in the North America Cup). But we’ve been in the business too long to take anything for granted.”

Keep It Real’s next start is on Sunday, June 7 at Mohawk, in a three-year-old pacing event where he will meet fellow NA Cup hopeful, J Cruise. He has been given the nod as the 2-1 morning line favourite in the field of nine.

To view Sunday's entries, click here.

(WEG)