Millionaire Cam will look to go down in the history books as the winner of the premiere edition of the Upper Canada Cup this coming Saturday at Georgian Downs, but trainer Tony O’Sullivan says his three-year-old will need to get a better trip than he did in his elimination to take the richest jackpot offered for Ontario-sired colts
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After overcoming road trouble in his elimination last Saturday, May 16, Millionaire Cam got up for third and just earned himself a spot in the $480,000 final.
“I was actually really disappointed in the elimination because where Jody [Jamieson] put him there was nowhere to go, so it certainly wasn’t the way we wanted to make the final,” O’Sullivan told Trot Insider. “However, I’m happy he paced home good after the trip he got.
“He came out of the race fine,” the resident of Cambridge, Ont. added. “I’m going to make a couple of changes to his equipment for next week. Jody thought we might be able to help him out a little bit, but other than that he seems okay. I don’t think he’s right at the top of his game, but he seems okay for where we want him to be.”
Millionaire Cam, who won his sophomore debut in a three-year-old Open at Mohawk on May 9, has yet to finish out of the money in his eight lifetime starts. The homebred son of Million Dollar Cam – Michelles Jackpot won an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination and final last September, adding a nice chunk of change to his $128,340 two-year-old bankroll for owner Jeffrey Snyder of New York, NY.
The bay will be starting once again from the six hole in this Saturday’s final, and O'Sullivan says the post position shouldn’t be too much of a factor for his colt who likes the hunt.
“There’s plenty of speed in there and Jody will do what he wants, but I don’t think we'll see him gun out of there. I’m sure he may look for a spot, but he’s much better when he can close on horses.”
O'Sullivan says the field is wide open with three or four nice looking colts heading to post, although he cites Oscar Oscar as one competitor who has impressed him most so far.
With his sights set on the North America Cup, Millionaire Cam will likely be heading to the Burlington following Saturday’s stakes event.
“There is a Gold elim next Sunday at Rideau [Carleton Raceway], which we probably won’t go to,” O'Sullivan said. “A lot will depend on how we do in the Upper Canada Cup – it’s probably going to map out the rest of the year in the short term, anyway. The NA Cup is for sure on the radar unless there’s something wrong with him.”
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