While the top two-year-old pacing colts prepare to return to Mohawk Racetrack on Sunday evening for the first $130,000 Gold final of their career, Donald Lowes is facing the prospect that the fastest colt he’s ever driven may not get
to participate.
“He’s the fastest thing I ever drove,” the resident of Princeton, Ont. says about Future Million. “Every time you go to the races he gets better, and he likes to race, and he’s got a fever today (Wednesday, July 15).”
Lowes is treating the colt’s fever and hoping for rapid improvement. If the fever breaks before Friday, he will give Future Million a test run over his track to evaluate his physical health, but if the fever remains high the colt will have to wait until August 9 for another shot at Ontario Sires Stakes gold.
“If it’s down I’ll blow him out, if it’s not, well, that’s racing,” says the 78-year-old horseman, philosophically.
Future Million earned his berth in Sunday’s Gold final off an impressive runner-up showing in the elimination round. Parked on the outside for much of the mile, the homebred son of Million Dollar Cam still had enough gas in the tank to kick home in :27.1 behind Lyons Danny. The finish replicated the result the colts posted in the July 5 Bud Light Stakes at Flamboro Downs, where Future Million recovered from an early break to challenge Lyons Danny.
The third foal out of Future Champion, who earned $128,885 for Lowes in her racing career, capturing the final of the Town Pro Series in 2003, Future Million has always been a colt Lowes had his eye on.
“This is the third foal. I had two fillies, one was crooked in the front end, she had an offset knee, and the other one didn’t stand right either,” he explains. “He’s a very nice colt, he’s well put together.”
Once Future Million came into the barn as a yearling, Lowes found that he had his eye on more than just the youngster’s conformation.
“He gave me a few problems,” recalls the horseman. “He ran away with me the first time.”
Fortunately, Future Million mellowed through the winter and Lowes is hoping he can find his niche among the province’s best this summer. With a limited stakes calendar outside of the Sires Stakes program, Future Million will have four more shots at a Gold final is he is forced to miss Sunday’s season opener.
If the colt is healthy, regular reinsman Simon Allard will steer him from Post 8 in the 10-horse field. Elimination winners Lyons Danny, Grin For Money and Mach Dreamer will start from Posts 3, 5, and 7 respectively.
“He’s a fellow that came to me and wanted to drive him,” says Lowes of Allard. “I’d had him qualify the colt a couple times at Flamboro, and he said he’d go anywhere to drive him. It’s nice to have somebody that wants to drive him.”
Mohawk is not far from Allard’s Burlington, Ont. home, and the reinsman will be crossing his fingers that he gets to make the trip this week instead of having to wait for the second Gold event.
Either way, the two-year-old pacing colt Gold final will go postward as Race 8 on Mohawk Racetrack’s Sunday evening program. The first race at the Campbellville oval gets under way at 7:30 p.m.
Click here to view Mohawk's harness racing entries for Sunday, July 19.
(With files from the OSS)