Drop The Ball, who is set to contest the $391,000 Roses Are Red Stakes on Saturday’s Maple Leaf Trot undercard at Mohawk Racetrack, has returned to the stable of trainer Tony O’Sullivan and he couldn’t be happier considering her dazzling elimination performance.
Last Saturday, the four-year-old mare made her presence known once again, lowering the Mohawk track record for aged pacing mares by one-fifth of a second to 1:49 in her Roses Are Red elim. She also holds the Woodbine track record for three-year-old fillies with a 1:49 performance taken last October in her Breeders Crown elimination.
“She is pretty much perfect,” praised O’Sullivan of the 13-time career winner with a $682,663 bankroll. “She can grab on a little bit when you warm her up, but she is just a good mare. She is a Cadillac, really.
“She doesn’t wear anything, no poles, no boots,” he added. “She is a joy to train, that’s what she is. She is just a great horse to be given for these big races.”
New Jersey-based trainer Ross Croghan sends the daughter of Western Terror-Mattcheck Girl into O’Sullivan’s care while she races in Ontario. The last time O’Sullivan had Drop The Ball was just under nine months ago when she was at Woodbine to compete in the Breeders Crown. She was runner-up to Monkey On My Wheel in the final.
“She has matured since then,” said O’Sullivan, a resident of Cambridge, Ont. “She has grown from three to four, filled out. She is a little bit taller, but she has just filled out to a stronger horse.”
Ever since Drop The Ball broke stride in the Mistletoe Shalee Prep at The Meadowlands last July, her chart lines have been clean and ultra-consistent, posting wins in the Mistletoe Shalee final, Shady Daisy Pace, Bluegrass Stakes, Matron Stakes and Green With Envy Series Final.
“Ross has said he changed her gear a little bit,” explained O’Sullivan. “I think he shortened up her hopples last year and it seemed to help her when she got up to top speed. It was almost like when she changed gears, she just changed too quickly so he played around with her. Since then, she has been absolutely flawless.”
In the 2011 Roses Are Red Stakes, O’Sullivan sent three mares postward, Laughandbehappy, who just missed by a nose, along with Ticket To Rock and Blissful Smile, who finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
This time around his hopes are solely on Drop The Ball to take all the spoils.
“There are some quality mares in there,” he said. “Even though she [Drop The Ball] went fast last week, it’s not all said and done, but with luck, with trip and if she puts on a performance like she did last week, I expect her to be really close.”
The bay has yet to miss the board in her five 2012 starts and will put her three-race win streak on the line when she leaves post three in the final for owners Let It Ride Stables Inc., Dana Parham and Robert Cooper Stables LLC.
$391,000 Roses Are Red Stakes
PP-Horse-Listed Driver
1. Royal Cee Cee N – J. Moiseyev
2. Put On A Show – J. Jamieson
3. Drop The Ball – D. McNair
4. Rocklamation – B. Sears
5. Monkey On My Wheel – P. MacDonell
6. Anndrovette – T. Tetrick
7. Radar Contact – M. Vanderkemp
8. Western Silk – S. Zeron
9. Rebeka Bayama – S. Filion
10. Camille – B. Miller
Also part of the Maple Leaf Trot undercard, four Canadian Breeders Championship finals will take place, featuring Canadian-sired three-year-olds. First race post is 7:10 p.m.
A full program for Saturday night's stakes-packed card of harness racing is available here -- Saturday Mohawk Program.
(WEG)
Good luck to all
Good luck to all participants.