For the past three years, trainer Anthony Beaton has finished second in an Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final. He's got three chances to win his first this Saturday, but none of those finalists are the horse many expected him to have racing on OSS Super Final night once stakes season started to roll.
Early season standout Bet On Becky was the OSS points leader among two-year-old pacing fillies but she's not among the 10 rookies that will be competing in that division's Super Final. Beaton told Trot Insider that the filly was shut down due to injury. Last seen in action on August 29 in a division of the Eternal Camnation, Bet On Becky's injury wasn't extremely serious but enough that he and the ownership group -- Larry Menary, Kenneth Ewen, Alan Alber & Michael Guerriero -- made the decision to err on the side of caution and not rush her back for the Super Final.
"We had a bone scan done on her after that last start. She just wasn't 100 per cent. It came back that there were a couple little ongoing issues with an ankle — sesamoid and that — but nothing overly serious. So, we decided the best thing to do with a filly of that talent was to shut her down and concentrate on the three-year-old season.
"They said we could get her back, but at the same time, we all said, 'You know what? She's too nice a filly; she doesn't owe anybody anything this year. Concentrate on the three-year-old season.'"
In five starts, Bet On Becky (Bettors Delight - Western City) won four times and banked more than $150,000 while taking a mark of 1:50.4. She'll cheer on a trio of stablemates this Saturday: fellow two-year-old pacing filly Best Keepsake (Race 7, PP10, Paul MacDonell, 20-1); two-year-old pacing colt Candy Trader (Race 4, PP1, Sylvain Filion, 8-1); and sophomore pacing filly Rose Run Vantage (Race 2, PP9, Scott Young, 12-1).
In 2019, Rose Run Vantage finished second to Alicorn in the OSS Super Final, marking Beaton's second straight runner-up score in that division after Better Single finished second to Summer Charm in the 2018 edition. Jimmy Freight finished second for Beaton in the 2017 Two-Year-Old Colt Pace.
The Super Finals aren't the only reason why October 17 is circled on Beaton's calendar. In the midst of a career year and first million-dollar season as a trainer, Beaton has a busy weekend ahead of him both on and off the track. Before heading to Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday night, Beaton plans to be at Winbak Farm on Friday to check out some of the yearlings selling in the Ontario Select Yearling Sale while also doing his homework for those selling in the London Selected Virtual Sale.
Hoping to find the next Bet On Becky, Beaton noted that his group of 2021 two-year-olds is currently up to three after the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale -- two Bettors Delights that he'll be training for Threelyonsracing as well as a Betterthancheddar that he signed for and will co-own with partners.
"It's been ongoing and tiresome," said Beaton of the yearling selection process during these unprecedented times. "We've been going through videos, and it's going to be a tough year to pick them out when you don't get to see them first-hand. But we are getting to as many farms as we can when we get a down moment — which doesn't happen very much. We pick our days and we've got to a number of farms. I've been spending a lot of time on the iPad in the sales books, trying to do my homework to find something."
To view entries for Saturday's OSS Super Final card, click one of the following links:
► Saturday Entries – Woodbine Mohawk Park
► Saturday Program Pages – Woodbine Mohawk Park (courtesy TrackIT).