Look Cheap and nine other sophomore pacing fillies will assemble this Thursday to contest the $60,000 Ontario Spring Filly Stakes final
at Woodbine Racetrack.
Look Cheap, a daughter of Geartogear-Chimi Hanover, took her $20,000 elimination in 1:54.1, the faster of the two divisions. Trainer Rod Boyd is confident in Look Cheap’s abilities to return to the winner’s circle for a second week in a row.
“She seems good going into the final,” he said. “Mark [MacDonald] gave her an easy trip there last week so she should be pretty fresh going in.”
In her elimination, Look Cheap used a ground saving trip to win by three-quarters of a length. But at the quarter pole, Look Cheap was gapped eight and a quarter lengths from the pocket sitter, but that didn’t concern Boyd.
“Mark had a lot of horse left so we weren’t too worried,” said Boyd. “We were just looking to give her the easiest trip possible and she covers ground so easy. She did everything right.”
The Cambridge resident hopes for a similar, effortless trip in the final. “It doesn’t really matter if Mark wants to put her on the front or if he wants to come from behind, she’s pretty versatile.”
While Look Cheap seems to be rounding into form for her sophomore campaign, she was lightly raced in her freshman year due to unforeseen soundness issues.
“She had normal two-year-old issues, growing pains. She couldn’t race too much as a two-year-old but we always thought she was a pretty nice horse,” said Boyd.
The brown filly has also been prone to sickness.
“It’s still an ongoing problem,” said Boyd. “She wasn’t really right last week. She was a little bit sick so we’ve been treating her this week, getting her ready for the final.”
One thing that Boyd doesn’t have to be concerned about is his filly’s manners.
“Even as a two-year-old she seemed like an older horse. She’s always got her ears up and wants to race, that's the most important thing.”
Boyd privately acquired Look Cheap as a two-year-old from Bulletproof Enterprises for owner Tom Hill of Lancashire, Great Britain. With a record of 2-2-0 from six lifetime starts, Look Cheap has career earnings of $32,750. The three-year-old filly remains eligible to the $80,000 Princess Stakes as well as the Ontario Sires Stakes program this summer.
Look Cheap will leave from post three in the Ontario Spring Filly Stakes on April 28, which will go as the fifth race with a post time of 8:46 p.m. To view entries for Thursday's card of harness racing, please click the following link: Thursday Entries - Woodbine Racetrack.
(WEG)