After a surprising 20-1 upset victory in last week’s second leg of the Silver Reign Pacing Series for three-year-old fillies at Woodbine, Kims Quest will try and follow up with a similar performance in this Monday night’s $60,000 final
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The daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Michelles Destiny already has a stakes series title under her belt this season. That came on February 11 at Woodbine when she wired the field in the $60,000 final of the Blizzard Pacing Series.
However, the filly came into this series for a new conditioner.
Frank Baker, Jr. took over just 10 days before her start in the first leg (March 8) and Kims Quest turned in a lacklustre seventh-place finish. It was a disappointing result but Baker felt better knowing there was a good reason why.
“In her first start there, she had been battling some sickness,” he explained. “Her muscle count was terribly high and, in hindsight, I just didn’t have enough time to get it right where it had to be. But, with the added week, we were able to get it under control and she was much better last week.”
Indeed she was, posting a hard-fought two-move victory for Simon Allard in 1:54 while knocking off favourite Shes Astreos who had been previously unbeaten this season.
Baker, Jr. has been keeping a close eye on his filly this past week in preparation and thinks he has her in good shape coming into the lucrative final.
“She loves to be outside, so we turned her out for three of four hours everyday,” he says. “We just tried to keep control of her muscle count, checking her blood regularly and make sure the sickness isn’t coming back on her. We jogged her everyday just to keep her loose and trained her just a slow, slow trip the other day just to try and keep her as good as we can.
“I think she stacks up well against this group. I think Mark Horner’s filly (The Mistress) might be the sleeper of the field to tell the truth. My filly likes to be handled aggressively so I’d expect her to be involved somewhere up near the front.”
Kims Quest will wear saddle pad five but will leave from post six in the nine-horse field with regular pilot Luc Ouellette back in the driver’s seat.
The Silver Reign Pacing Series final will go as race four on the 12-race program with first post slated for 7:20 p.m. Fans are reminded that Monday's program also features a $35,000 guaranteed pool for the Early Pick-4.
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To view Monday’s entries, click here.