North America Cup Spring Book - #6

"He’s the best animal I’ve ever touched. Every time he trains I have a smile on my face for a few days."

Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final and Battle Of Waterloo winner Prodigal Seelster enters the Trot 2011 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book at #6 with odds of 18-1. Trot Insider caught up with trainer David Menary for an update on the Camluck colt's downtime after his rookie season and what 2011 holds in store.

Where did he winter?

"I kept him right at the farm at Stephenson’s Training Centre. I kept him at the farm until December 20 and we jogged him a little bit to let him down at the end of the year and then we took him to Dan McMaster’s farm for five weeks to give him some turnout time before we started back with."

When did you start back with him?

"We started back with him during the first week of February."

Where are you at with him right now?

"He’s right on schedule. I’m going to train him two trips on Saturday (April 2). So far I’ve been in 2:22 with him. I’ve been back and forth between the farm and Mohawk with him because of the track conditions."

Have you noticed any changes from last year to this year?

"He’s the best animal I’ve ever touched. Last year he looked like a three-year-old, but he looks like a four-year-old this year. Every time he trains I have a smile on my face for a few days. I had him up to Dr. Terry Ruch’s a few weeks ago to overlook a splint that he’s had since last year, and this is the best Camluck Terry said he’s ever seen – and he's seen a lot of them."

When will he qualify?

"I'll probably aim to qualify him a few weeks before the Upper Canada Cup. He’s got too much money made to race in anything other than a three-year-old Open. That way if he can’t get a race he can have a couple of qualifiers."

What will his early schedule look like leading up to the Pepsi NA Cup?

"He’ll have the Upper Canada Cup for two weeks and then the Somebeachsomewhere and then the NA Cup. He’ll be a bit different than Haul Away last year. The Upper Canada Cup was his peak race last year, but Prodigal Seelster’s peak race will be the NA Cup."

What does his tentative schedule look like after the NA Cup?

"He’s got different options. Worst case scenario he’s the cream of the crop of the Ontario Sires Stakes. But he’s staked to Meadowlands Pace, Canadian Breeders, Confederation Cup and a number of other big ones. We have plenty of options, that’s for sure, depending on how things pan out."

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.