'Inarush' For A Crowning Moment

"She’s had a few tough trips throughout the year, but she always seems to bounce back, which means a lot. A good horse will bounce back. She’s very consistent."

Hailing from Eddy Doucette’s single-horse stable, leading three-year-old pacing filly Elm Grove Inarush will aim to wrap up a successful campaign with her first Atlantic Breeders Crown victory this Sunday afternoon at Charlottetown Driving Park.

Last year, Elm Grove Inarush finished second in the Atlantic Breeders Crown to Saulsbrook Alana. With regular driver Mark Bradley in the sulky, she’s emerged on top entering this year’s $22,000 championship and will look to keep things that way despite facing a competitive bunch of rivals.

Elm Grove Inarush has won 11 of her 16 sophomore stakes starts, including four Atlantic Sires Stakes to lead the divisional point standings. She's earned $59,484 in purses this year to boost her career bankroll over the $100,000 mark.

“Lovineveryminute has been her biggest challenger all year. Whichever filly seemed to draw inside seemed to be the best of the two fillies,” Bradley told Trot Insider, adding as the season progressed he feels Elm Grove Inarush has developed into the stronger filly. “Last year it was Saulsbrook Alana and she has won a few big stakes this year too. Not to take anything away from her, she’s a great filly too, but she had some issues this summer and hasn’t seemed to step up as much this year.”

With the noted advantage of drawing inside her main rivals, Elm Grove Inarush will start from post four in Sunday’s Atlantic Breeders Crown with Lovineveryminute to her right in post five and Saulsbrook Alana further out in post seven. One of Elm Grove Inarush’s strengths is her gate speed, but Bradley isn’t counting out the other fillies in the field.

“There’s a couple inside of my filly on Sunday that can leave bit. I’m sure they’re going to leave out for position too,” he said.

“Lovineveryminute is a pretty damn nice filly and Saulsbrook Alana. They’re both really nice fillies,” echoed Doucette. “We’ve had our problem with them. We’ll win, they’ll win. They’ve been tough competition for us. Sail Through is a nice filly, Pictonian Sareta, there’s some other nice fillies in there too.”

Among Elm Grove Inarush’s seasonal highlights are a pair of track record performances. Her first record mile was in the Atlantic Sires Stakes at Inverness Raceway on Aug. 3 where she parked another filly to the half and went on to win in 1:55.3. Last weekend in the Lady Slipper Stakes, she also set a track record at Summerside Raceway doing all the work on the front end for a career-best 1:55.1 victory on a cool and windy day.

“It was pretty amazing how fast she went so easy,” said Bradley, noting the Coastocoast Yankee-Seawind Alpha filly is as sound and fresh now as she was at the beginning of the season. “As the year goes on you think they might get a little tired, but it seems like she gets stronger. That’s a big asset. She’s big and strong.”

Elm Grove Inarush’s success the past two years have “been a dream come true” for Doucette and his longtime partners Blaine Thibeau, Gordon MacLeod and Grant Mann. The hobby horseman, who works full-time at the Kensington Vet Clinic, has been training one or two horses at a time for the past three decades.

“These last two years have been our most successful as far as Breeders Crowns,” said Doucette, who just added a new prospect to his stable during Friday's Atlantic Classic Sale. “I have been in a few, but never won one. Second was the best we got last year.”

Bradley will also be vying for his first Atlantic Breeders Crown victory.

“I’m pretty humbled to get the chance to catch-drive a good horse like this,” said Bradley. “It might never happen to me again. It’s a pretty good feeling when you’re driving her in the stakes races from week to week and you know the caliber of horse that she is and that she gives it her all every week.

“It’s been a great ride and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. I hope she goes on to bigger and better things too. I think she will.”

To view entries for the Atlantic Breeders Crown card, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Red Shores Charlottetown