Sudbury Downs kicks off two weeks of exciting Ontario Sires Stakes action this Sunday, hosting three $24,000 Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old trotting colts
.
Trainer Mark Steacy is heading for the northern oval with a truck load of young trotters, and he is hoping all four will deliver solid performances in their second Grassroots start.
First behind the gate from the Steacy barn are Lukes Devon and Angus King, who will start from Posts 1 and 3 in the third race. Lukes Devon will be looking to improve on the sixth place showing he achieved in the July 21 Grassroots season opener at Georgian Downs, while Angus King hopes to match or better the second-place cheque he collected for owners Arcane Stable of Oshawa.
"Angus King is a homebred horse they brought to me last fall to break and train," says Steacy. "He's a nice horse. He improved a lot between his first and second race. He was actually a little over aggressive at Georgian Downs. He should be a player in the Grassroots."
The son of Angus Hall and Stuff Like That was only bested by three-quarters of a length in his Grassroots debut, trotting over a second faster than he did in a leg of the Majestic Son Series at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 10.
Steacy is hoping that the advantageous Post 1 will keep Lukes Devon focused on the task at hand this week. The son of Angus Hall and Heartbeat Hanover never got into the action from the outside Post 8 at Georgian Downs.
"He really hasn't figured it all out yet. He was a little lost in the eight-hole," says the horseman, who trains the colt for Landmark II Racing Stable of Elginburg, Malik Racing Stable of Ottawa, Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc. of Hudson, QC and Dr. Malcolm Man Son Hing of Campbell River, BC. "I think if he's got horses around him he'll focus a lot more."
A $50,000 yearling purchase from the Forest City Yearling Sale, Lukes Devon will have Steacy in the race bike on Sunday, while Angus King gets the services of a catch driver.
In the second Grassroots division, Steacy will steer Mallon from Post 6, and the horseman is hoping for an improved effort from the son of Ken Warkentin and Just Got A Winner.
"He's a nice horse, a big, strong colt. He kind of hasn't figured it out yet either," says Steacy of the half-brother to former Gold Final winner Sin To Win ($90,480). "If he puts his mind more on winning a horse race he'll be better, although he raced okay for his first start in Georgian."
Mallon, a $35,000 purchase from the Lexington Select Yearling Sale last fall, finished fourth in his Grassroots debut for owners Landmark II Racing Stable, Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc., and David MacDonald of Cornwall.
The final entry from the Steacy barn is Icarus Kemp, an $80,000 purchase from Lexington who led the pack training down, but was unable to demonstrate his speed at Georgian Downs due to interference behind the starting gate. Steacy expects the colt to handle Sudbury's half-mile turns with ease and deliver a sharp performance from Post 5 in the seventh race.
"All winter he was one of the more speedy colts training down," says Steacy, who conditions the son of Kadabra for Landmark II Racing Stable, Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc., David MacDonald, and David Reid of Glenburnie. "You can move him a little bit like a pacer, and I think he can trot through the turns pretty good too.
"Icarus Kemp was probably the handiest one training down, but Mallon was the one I always kind of thought would turn out to be the best, just because he's so big and powerful," adds the Lansdowne resident. "And Lukes Devon is probably the best gaited of them all."
Steacy's colts will test their skills against their Grassroots peers in Races 3, 5 and 7 on Sudbury Downs' Sunday matinee, which gets under way at 1 p.m.
(OSS)
To view Sunday’s harness racing entries, click here.