With the same ownership group that captured a Little Brown Jug in 2008, the connections of Malicous will aim for more hardware as their three-year-old ranks as a top 10 selection for Trot Magazine's Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book
.
Throughout the course of the week, the SC website will countdown to the Spring Book favourite, complete with updates from the trainers on the pacers that Trot staff assessed as the leading contenders for the richest prize in Canadian harness racing. Watch for the full list of Spring Book odds in the April issue of Trot Magazine.
With odds of 15-1, Malicious comes in at #5 in the NA Cup Spring Book Top 10. Trainer and co-owner Dr. Ian Moore discussed the Bettors Delight colt's progress with Trot Insider.
Where did he spend the winter and what has he been like coming back?
He’s at Southern Oaks Training Centre in Sorrento, Florida and he’s been here since the first part of November after Harrisburg I guess. He’s coming back really strong. He grew up, grew a little taller and maybe filled out a bit more. Him and my other three-year-old, Wellthereyougo, trained together and they’ve been really strong. They’re a nice pair. We love them.
You said you’ve noticed some changes, he’s filled out quite a bit?
Yeah. He has filled out I guess. He’s muscled up some behind and in the shoulder, not tremendously but he has grown a fair bit taller. You’ve just got an overall bigger horse than he was last year. He’s a good size for a Bettors Delight because a lot of those horses are a bit on the small side. He’s a good size.
What is the timeline like for him leading up to the Cup, including qualifiers and prep races?
Well hopefully he’ll be ready to qualify down here April 21 if all goes well then we’ll be leaving for the north probably somewhere around the 27th or 28th of April. And he’s going to stay in the U.S. for a while until Cup time I guess, if all goes well of course. He’s going to do either the Hempt or the Empire Breeders Classic for New York-breds in May and perhaps the Rooney down here too, I’m not sure yet. But he’ll likely stay in the U.S. for a while, we have a couple of options there.
What are your thoughts on the 2010 three-year-old crop?
We’re looking forward optimistically to the season with him. He was the best two-year-old we’ve ever had, the fastest so I’m looking forward to it. I know it's going to be a very tough year. There was a lot of top two-year-olds last year, more than I’ve seen in one year for a long time so it's certainly not going to be a walk over for anybody.
Previous Top 10 Profiles
6. Delmarvalous (18-1)
7. Rockin Image (20-1)
8. Woodstock (22-1)
9. Red Bugler (25-1)
10. Power Of A Moment (26-1)