There is over $1 million on the line at Georgian Downs on Saturday night and trainer Kent Baker is hoping the lucky streak three-year-old trotting filly Last Strike has been riding recently can stretch to accommodate a top finish on the lucrative Gold Rush program
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"Hopefully we can do a little good, that’s all we want," says the Coldwater resident, who trains Last Strike for his partners in the Waykenup Stable. "We were very lucky to draw in, and lucky with the draw — I love it all so far."
Last Strike’s lucky streak started last Saturday night when the Striking Sahbra daughter drew into the sophomore trotting filly Gold Final following her fifth place finish in the elimination round. Only one of the two fifth-place finishers advanced, and Last Strike drew the short straw. The filly’s luck then held through the post position draw, which saw her land the coveted rail position, a post she has not seen since an April 6 start in the Celia Counsel Stake at Woodbine Racetrack where she finished third.
Through 10 sophomore starts Last Strike has tallied two wins, one second and four third-place finishes. She dipped her toe into the Ontario Sires Stakes pool at the Grassroots level in June, finishing third in her division from the outside Post 8 at Grand River Raceway, and Baker figured there was no place like home to try the Gold Series.
"I started her once in the Grassroots and she drew bad," recalls Baker. "I always thought she was close, and I still do think she’s close, but just not quite good enough yet for the Gold.
"But it’s a lot closer to race her here than in Sarnia," adds the horseman of his decision to skip the July 2 Grassroots event at Sarnia’s Hiawatha Horse Park and tackle the Gold Series fillies.
Last Strike finished fifth behind elimination winner Simply Stirling last Saturday, and Baker says the filly may have been hampered by a virus that showed up on examination after the race. He has spent this week concentrating on getting the filly back to health and hopes her performance in the Gold Final will reflect his efforts.
"She was a little sick on me last week. She didn’t race as well as I thought she should, so we scoped her and she had a lot of mucous and pimples," he explains. "I’ve been treating her all week, so hopefully she’ll be good enough. I had to back off with her a bit, but it’s better for her to feel a little better than be a little short I think."
This was not the first time Baker has backed off the filly’s training regimen. As a two-year-old Last Strike’s gait got a little off kilter and Baker and his partners opted to curtail her freshman season in early August after just three starts. After four months vacation on fall pasture, the filly returned to work bigger and stronger.
"She grew a lot from last year to this year," says Baker. "Maybe last year, quitting with her, was the best thing that ever happened to her."
Last Strike will test her strength against the best three-year-old trotting fillies in the province in the seventh race on the rich Georgian Downs program Saturday. The three-year-old pacing fillies kick things off for the OSS events, competing in Race 3, while the sophomore trotting colts battle in Race 5 and the pacing colts in Race 9. The program also features four Masters Series Finals for aged trotters and pacers, which go postward as Races 4, 6, 8, and 10.
The thrills on the racetrack will be matched by the fun in the grandstand as Georgian Downs transforms into a Gold Rush town complete with pony rides, petting zoos, gold panning games, horse and buggy rides, roving musicians, rodeo-style horse performances and more. One lucky fan will also have an opportunity to pan for gold following the eighth race, selecting from among 100 golden boxes in hopes of finding the grand prize of $100,000.
Georgian Downs’ second annual Gold Rush gets under way at 7:25 p.m.
To view Saturday's entries, click here.
(OSS)