As harness racing's glamour boy division focuses its attention on The Meadowlands this weekend, two of the top tier three-year-old pacing colts will be forced to watch this one from the shedrow.
Warrawee Needy disappointed as the odds-on favourite in his follow-up effort at Mohawk Racetrack last Saturday evening when he finished second in a conditioned event.
“He raced just fair on Saturday night,” said the colt's driver Jody Jamieson on Tuesday. “The line looks OK, but not like Needy should be doing. Dad [trainer Carl Jamieson] waited until today to scope him and see if his medications have worked, and they have but not to the extent they needed to in order to have him compete with the best in the world. Rome wasn’t built in a day and we're trying not to tear it down overnight!"
Trainer and co-owner Carl Jamieson told Trot Insider that the O’Brien Award-winning son of E Dees Cam scoped full of mucus after Saturday's race and was subsequently treated with antibiotics.
"He raced good but not good enough for him," said Jamieson, who noted that the colt will now prepare for the Canadian Breeders Championships at Mohawk Racetrack later this month.
North America Cup elim winner Dapper Dude was being pointed to the Meadowlands Pace as well but scoped sick after Friday's qualifying mile at Mohawk.
"I might have been able to enter him but I erred on side of the caution. It's a long season," said McIntosh, who notes that the three-year-old son of The Panderosa will be pointed for the Adios.
Stablemate Thinking Out Loud, who captured the 2012 Pepsi North America Cup, is heading into Saturday's Meadowlands Pace elimination in great shape. McIntosh notes that the son of Ponder trained on Tuesday and is "feeling good."