The Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) will continue its cross-province 50th Anniversary celebration tour on Sunday, July 7 as it heads to Clinton Raceway with a couple of $20,000 Grassroots Series divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies on the afternoon card, which is headlined by the $50,000 Kin Pace.
The two Grassroots Series events will go in Races 4 and 8, while the Kin Pace will cap off the 10-race card on Sunday.
The first Grassroots division includes local trotting filly All Out Marilyn, whose trainer, Pam Forgie, and owner, David Wilkinson (Forgie’s father), both hail from Goderich, Ont., just a short 20-minute drive away from Clinton Raceway.
“My dad is how I got into racehorses,” said Forgie. “So, I grew up with racehorses because my dad owned horses, and he had a small farm in Goderich, so we would ship into Clinton or Goderich to train – usually Goderich because it was closer. So, I grew up in Goderich watching the races more than Clinton, but we’d come to both. They’re only 20 minutes away.”
Coming in as a 10-1 morning line longshot, All Out Marilyn isn’t expected to place high, but could surprise.
“She has the ability to [win], but we’ve just been dealing with some health issues with her and we’re hoping that that’s cleared up,” said Forgie of All Out Marilyn. “I was just having trouble with getting her blood right. She was just having some problems with her liver, but now I think we’ve gotten that straightened out a bit. And she was getting a bit hot behind the gate so we did some equipment changes there over her last couple of starts, so she’s been much better with that.”
All Out Marilyn, a daughter of Mister Bianco bred by Peter Albrecht of Atwood, Ont., will be driven by Anthony Haughan. She was a Grassroots winner last year as a two-year-old in her second career start on July 17, beating out other horses she’ll face on Sunday, including Rhythm Of Life and Abikadabra.
The 8-5 morning line favourite is Matt Bax trainee Birthday Money, a Resolve filly who is currently tied for second in the Grassroots standings for three-year-old trotting fillies coming off a win in the June 20 second leg at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
The field includes 5-1 value play Mass Money, whose reinsman, Travis Henry, will also be driving Go Have Fun in the second division -- both trained by Mark Etsell.
Go Have Fun is owned by Etsell Newton of Rockwood, Ont., Graham Hopkins of Chesley, Ont., Peter Porter of Port Dover, Ont., and Lindsey Turner of Georgetown, Ont., and was bred by Christopher Coyle of Wingate, North Carolina.
Sunday will mark the first time Henry will drive Go Have Fun, who has performed well so far this year, racking up a first, a second and two third-place finishes over seven starts, including a pair of thirds in the Grassroots.
Despite not being familiar with the Kadabra filly, Henry isn’t too worried, knowing he’ll get the information he needs.
“Mark [Etsell] usually has driven [the horses he trains] and sat behind them enough that he usually tells me what they’re like,” said Henry.
Mass Cara, headlines the second division as the 8-5 morning line favourite with Trevor Henry driving the Muscle Mass filly for trainer Kyle Bossence. Like Birthday Money, Mass Cara is tied for second in the Grassroots standings for three-year-old trotting fillies with 75 points.
Travis Henry will be driving one of two Tony Beaton trainees, Halva Hanover, while Haughan will be sitting behind the other, Pasta Delight, in the Kin Pace for Ontario-sired three-year-old pacing fillies. The 6-5 morning line favourite in Sunday's featured finale is the All Bets Off filly, How Much, from the inside post with Doug McNair driving the 1:55 elimination winner for the David Menary stable.
The Kin Pace pays homage to the early days of Clinton Raceway when the Kinsmen and Kinette Club introduced pari-mutuel wagering to the grassroots track in 1970.
As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration, fans coming out to enjoy the races will also be able to win prizes via giveaways, there will be activity books for the young ones and all ages can take in a timeline illustrating the 50-year history of the OSS.
In advance of Monday’s celebration, noted Canadian harness racing writer and historian Robert Smith wrote a brief history of Clinton Raceway, which can be read by clicking here.
“The memories [of the OSS] I would say would be that I’ve won a few [OSS races], but it’s going back to when I was watching my uncles and my grandfather win them,” said Travis Henry. “I remember running to the winner’s circle when there was the Trillium Series and all of that, so it’s been a big part of my summer because I used to travel around with them in the summer.”
Post time for the first race on Sunday at Clinton Raceway is 1:30 p.m. Click here for a free program from Clinton Raceway. Fans unable to attend in person can visit the track's website for streaming information and make wagers via HPIBet.
To view Sunday's harness racing entries, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Clinton Raceway.
(With files from OSS)