Trainer and co-owner Ian Reid is hoping the conditions suit his pupil, Winter Blues, as the Snowshoe Pacing Series, for three and four-year-old non-winners of two races lifetime (as of October 31, 2008) gets underway at Woodbine Racetrack on Friday, January 2.
Certainly the draw suited the four-year-old Astreos gelding, who ended up with in post position #1 in the second of the three $20,000 splits of the series opener (Race 6, post time 9:10 p.m.).
Until a misfire in the second leg of the Valedictory series on Boxing Day, Winter Blues had been having a stellar fall season at Woodbine. The gelding had been no worse than third in seven outings at the Rexdale oval since October, including a win in an opening leg of the Ontario Sired Autumn Series which earned him his biggest paycheque to date.
Handicappers are laying 2-1 morning line odds that Winter Blues will regain his previous form on Friday night against eight other colts and geldings.
In the first of the three Snowshoe Splits (Race 3, post time 8:10 p.m.), Carat Hanover may be set to sparkle. Coming off a win in a $21,000 conditioned event on December 26, the Tony O’Sullivan trainee has been improving steadily for the past month and now boasts a record of 3-5-0 in 15 starts. The four-year-old gelded son of Bettors Delight is rated the even-money first choice in his field of eight, and will once again enjoy the driving talents of Rick Zeron for the trip.
Catch all three divisions of the Snowshoe Pacing Series opening leg on Friday night at Woodbine. The second leg is slated for the following Friday, January 9, with the $45,000 (est.) final on January 16.
To view Friday's entries, click here.
(WEG)
He certainly has the
He certainly has the approriate name for a snowshoe win. He could just be the horse to break the real winter blues.