Trainer Casie Coleman will debut three freshman pacing fillies in the division's second Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series of the season, and the resident of Cambridge, Ont. is hopeful that all three can advance out of Monday’s elimination round at Mohawk Racetrack
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First off the gate for the Coleman stable is Jeremes Sweetheart, a daughter of Jeremes Jet and Fox Valley Evanna that impressed both the trainer and her partner Steve Calhoun from the first moment they laid eyes on her.
“Steve Calhoun, he saw her video before he even went to the sale, and he loved her, he told me to make sure I looked at her,” recalled Coleman. “I obviously had her marked also because she was Ontario-sired, and as soon as I saw her when we walked into the sale, she was unbelievable. She’s very eye-catching, she’s big, good looking, pretty much perfect conformation, very well bred.
“Me and Steve Calhoun do not normally go over about $50,000 when we buy yearlings, and we agreed I think it was around $60,000, maybe just over $60,000 that we agreed that we would bid on her to, and I kept bidding. I ended up buying her for about $92,000 I think. I called him and I said, ‘We got the filly.’ He said, ‘Oh great.’ Then I said, ‘We paid more than we wanted to.’ When I told him the price I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll keep her myself, it’s not a big deal.’ He told me he’d call me back after he thought about it, and he called me back, not even five minutes later, and said he’ll take her, and so far it looks like it was a good decision.”
Coleman says Jeremes Sweetheart has been flawless since day one, never having a bad day, or giving her trainer a moment’s trouble. In a June 25 qualifier at Mohawk the half-sister to $408,732 winner Clos Pesage finished second with a 1:59.2 effort, and then came back on July 2 with a commanding 1:56.1 victory in her second qualifying effort.
“Normally, with an Ontario-sired horse I won’t pay them up in a whole lot of open stakes, and with her I’ve left her paid up in all the open stakes also, because I think and I hope she’s good enough for them,” Coleman said about Jeremes Sweetheart. “I expect big things from her, I hope anyways, but so far she’s been just awesome and hasn’t really had any bad days.”
The filly will benefit from Post 1 in the first $40,000 Gold elimination, and from the return of Coleman’s regular driver Mark MacDonald, who has been off for a month recovering from an accident at Mohawk on May 26. Among their competition in the first elimination is reigning Gold final winner Class Of O Nine, who has drawn Post 2.
MacDonald will also steer Donum Deo in the second elimination and Katys Jet in the third. Lis Mara daughter Donum Deo will start from Post 7, and Coleman hopes the dainty filly continues to perform beyond expectations.
“When I first got her I admit that I wasn’t all that high on her because of the size of her, and she doesn’t really look like anything overly special,” said the trainer. “But training her you would have no idea how small she is, she’s got a motor in her. She qualified in 1:56 and a piece the other day and she actually impressed me quite a bit. She’s been real good so far, so I’m real happy about her.”
Owned by breeder MG Racing Stables LLC of Annandale, NJ, Donum Deo is the first foal from $216,405 winner Kiss Of Heaven. The filly delivered a 2:01 effort in her first qualifying outing on June 25, and then came back with a 1:56.4 result on July 2.
The final entry of the Coleman trio is another daughter of Jeremes Jet. Katys Jet will make her provincial debut from Post 1 in the third elimination, and Coleman is hoping the filly can compensate for the slow qualifier she landed in on July 2.
“We wanted to go a little bit faster with her because we planned to go to the Gold, and they only went to the half in I think it was 1:02 and a piece, and she ended up coming a back half in :56 and a piece and qualified great,” explained the trainer. “I would have rather had a 1:57 or 1:56 mile under her belt, but it wasn’t really her fault. We didn’t think the horses up front were going to go 1:02 to the half and come a big last half.”
A $105,000 yearling purchase by John Liviakis of Mill Valley, California, Katys Jet caused Coleman some grief through the early stages of her education, spending more time gawking at everything from leaves to snow than she did attending to business. Fortunately, the filly seemed to grow out of her inattentive stage and started to demonstrate her real ability.
“She’s very good, she’s big, not quite as big as Jeremes Sweetheart, but she’s a good sized filly, very good gaited, and fast, she has a lot of speed,” said the trainer. “I’ve been really high on both those two (Jeremes) Jet fillies training down.”
The top three finishers from each Gold elimination, plus one fourth-place finisher selected by random draw, will earn a berth in the $130,000 Gold final at Mohawk on July 18. Monday’s showdown will begin at 7:10 p.m., with the two-year-old pacing fillies spotlighted in Races 3, 6 and 9.
To view entries for Monday's card of racing at Mohawk, click the following link: Monday Entries - Mohawk Racetrack.
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