Western Silk topped the charts in the O.S.S. program last year when it came to making money in the two-year-old pacing filly division, and trainer Casie Coleman is hoping for more of the same from the talented lass in
2010.
But if Western Silk doesn’t deliver, her new stablemate might be there to pick up the pieces.
Bay Girl, who banked more than $205,000 in the freshmen filly division last year while racing under the care of trainer Ben Wallace, will now find herself decked out in blue and yellow. Tracy Brainard was prepping the filly for the upcoming season, but in the last few weeks the filly changed her residence yet again.
“The owners called me a few weeks ago and asked me if I’d take her,” said Coleman. “They got back to me a week later and said to come pick her up. I was told she’s been in 2:14, and I went a mile in 2:10 with her yesterday.”
Plans are still up in the air at this point for the filly, but fans can expect to see plenty of her in the O.S.S. program throughout the upcoming stakes season.
“I’d like to hit the first Gold Series in London with her if we can, but I think she’s just a tiny bit behind schedule for that, so we’ll just play it by ear. If she’s ready she’s ready, if not then we’ll get ready for the next one.”
Stablemate Western Silk, on the other hand, is right on schedule according to her O’Brien Award-winning conditioner.
“Silky [Western Silk] trained in 2:02 on Tuesday morning and she was awesome,” added Coleman. “She’ll qualify in about two weeks and she’ll get two qualifiers then hopefully a start and then she’ll go to the Gold Series in London. I’ve got her completely paid up in Canada but I never paid her into any of the stakes in the states.”
Western Silk was the leading money-winning filly in the two-year-old pacing division last year despite a very poor performance in the $300,000 O.S.S. Super Final – a race that Coleman would love to have back under different circumstances.
“She doesn’t handle the retention barn which everybody obviously knows. If she hits retention barn she ties up solid,” said Coleman. “Hopefully we’re over that issue this year; we’ve been working on it. She just gets stressed out when she’s not with another horse. So for sure she’ll have the O.S.S. and I’d like the Fan Hanover and some of the other big races, but if she doesn’t handle the retention barn then we’ll just have to play that by ear.”
Bay Girl, a daughter of Royal Mattjesty-Whitley Bay assembled a 4-3-2 record from just 12 trips postward last season. She earned a flashy 1:52.2 speed badge in a $130,000 O.S.S. Gold Series final at Mohawk Racetrack on August 16, 2009. Bred by Winbak Farm, Bay Girl is owned by Michael and Sam and Pat Sergi of Canton, NY.
Western Silk, who is owned by Casie Coleman Stables Inc of Cambridge, ON and Tom Hill of Lancashire, GB, went 7-for-14 in her rookie year and stashed away more than $319,000 in the process. She earned a 1:52.1 mark at Woodbine Racetrack on October 16, 2009 in a $25,745 elimination for the Breeders Crown.