While most of Canada prepares to celebrate the nation’s birthday tomorrow, there will be some fireworks on the racetrack at Mohawk where six $18,000 divisions of Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots action for three-year-old pacing colts will face the gate.
This is always one of the most exciting and competitive divisions of the OSS and tomorrow night’s races feature many colts with Grassroots experience as well as some newcomers. In the first division Svadilfari will make the second OSS appearance in his young career.
The colt’s name comes from Norse mythology. Svadilfari was a swift and intelligent horse that belonged to a giant. This version of Svadilfari is a son of No Pan Intended co-owned by his trainer Clark Beelby and breeder Coyote Wynd Farm, owned by John Floren of Vancouver, BC.
Beelby, who hails from a family of horsemen based in Alberta, shifted his operation to Ontario in 1996. Although a top driver in his native province with close to $5 million in purses won, he has concentrated mainly on training once he settled in Ontario.
When Floren wanted to send some horses to Ontario to race Beelby was recommended and they have developed a successful partnership with Svadilfari being one in a long list of horses they’ve raced together.
They actually claimed his dam, the Jate Lobell daughter Jates Best, back in 2005. A half-sister to the dam of $417,000 winner UF Dragons Queen, Jates Best earned $133,000 in total over her racing career before being retired to the Coyote Wynd broodmare band. As Floren owns a share in Rocknroll Hanover, her first three foals were by that sire with the best one to date being Rocinante a winner of $185,000.
Svadilfari is the mare’s fourth foal, and first Ontario-sired offspring. He would also prove her final foal as she died the year after foaling him. He was unraced last year at two but has two wins and a pair of seconds in six starts thus far at three.
Tomorrow night’s start will be the colt’s second Grassroots test. He finished fourth in his debut on June 13 also at Mohawk. He’s drawn post seven in the first division, race one, and will have James MacDonald at the lines.
Starting alongside them in post six is another son of No Pan Intended, Needlecrest who will be driven by Roger Mayotte who was the trainer and driver of Jates Best before Coyote Wynd claimed the mare.
This is the second Grassroots test for this group in 2014. The first, also at Mohawk earlier in June, had eight divisions and four of those winners will be competing tomorrow night. Prince Clyde and Atomic Million AM will square off in race nine from posts seven and two respectively while The Optimist has post three in race four and Regal Son will depart from post six in the 10th and final division.
Mohawk’s post time tomorrow night is 7:25 with the Grassroots colts lining up in races one, four, six, seven, nine and 10.
(OSS)
To view entries for Tuesday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Tuesday Entries – Mohawk Racetrack.