Dustin Jones will be the first to acknowledge the wisdom of the old axiom “never look a gift horse in the mouth.”
His talented two-year-old trotting colt Dont Rush, who next starts on Saturday night in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals at Mohawk Racetrack, was born as a result of a gift to Jones from legendary French horseman Jean Pierre Dubois.
“Jean Pierre Dubois is a good friend of mine. A couple of years ago we were sitting together on a bale of hay waiting to race our fillies in the Hambletonian Oaks. I had Martiniontherocks and he had Crys Dream. He offered me breedings to any one of his three stallions,” Jones explained.
Jones decided upon Infinitif, a son of Pine Chip who won more than $730,000 during his racing career for Dubois, mostly in Europe. The mare he selected was Color Me Pretty who delivered a colt in March of 2012 which Jones named Dont Rush. The colt developed into a very talented trotter under Jones’ watchful eye and ended the regular Ontario Sires Stakes Gold season as the point leader in the two-year-old trotting colt division.
Dont Rush has drawn Post 8 in Saturday’s $250,000 Super Final (Race 5), with his regular driver Chris Christoforou in the bike. A winner of $171,985 to date, Dont Rush comes into the contest riding a two-race winning streak, both OSS Gold events.
The success of Dont Rush came at a pivotal time for Jones. He started 2014 as a public trainer, after working as a private trainer for many years. “At my age (53) it's a bit scary starting out again, but I've always felt that I have a good eye for picking out a quality horse. And for whatever reason through my life whenever I needed a really good horse to come along, it did.”
In addition to Dont Rush, Jones’ stable this year also includes the talented three-year-old pacing filly Nat A Virgin, a winner of $201,000 for Jones and his partner, Lynn Jones of Kentucky, who also bred the filly, a winner in the Glen Garnsey Stakes at the Red Mile last week.
A native of Sherbrooke, Que., and now residing in Waterdown, Ont., Jones has had several top horses over the years, including Emilie Cas El, who was named Canada’s 1994 Horse of the Year. She has also produced some top performers, including this year’s Hambletonian winner, Trixton. The Hambletonian is a race Jones has competed in three times, with Uhadadream, Prestidigitator and Wheeling N Dealin, but has yet to win. Dont Rush could give him the chance next year. “I’ve kept him eligible. You have to be a dreamer in this business and you can’t be in it unless you’re eligible.”
Saturday’s Super Final will be Dont Rush’s final start of his rookie season, and Jones is pleased with how the colt is coming into the event. “He’s raced good all summer. He could have won his five Gold events. In his second Gold he got beat a nose, it was in the mud and I used him pretty tough. The third Gold I was going to put him in a hole, but I had to grab him up quick as a horse was backing up in front of me and he jumped it off (and ended up seventh). He’s been racing really good.”
Dont Rush highlights Race 5 on Saturday night, the seven other $250,000 OSS Super Finals are Race 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10. The exciting race card will get underway at 7:25 p.m.
For an overview on Saturday’s Super Final races, click here.
For a free, printable program page, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Mohawk, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Mohawk Racetrack.
(OSS)