When the two-year-old pacing fillies make their Ontario Sires Stakes debut at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening, 10 months of work and worry
on the part of their owners and trainers will be distilled down to two minutes of intense hope.
Hope that their protégé ranks among the best in the province, hope that the race works out in their favour, hope that their horse might be this year’s superstar.
“I’ve had plenty of good ones for other people. It would sure as heck be nice if I had one, for once, that I owned,” says trainer Darren McCall, who will harness Ice Ice Baby from Post 2 in the second $40,000 Gold Elimination.
So far Ice Ice Baby has done all the right things, culminating in a qualifier at Mohawk on July 4 where she toured the seven-eighths mile alone on the front end in 2:00.3. McCall says the Modern Art lass was always a steady performer, but she did not step to the forefront until recently, when the Cambridge resident started asking his two-year-olds for a touch of speed.
“I had three babies, of which I thought she was second best,” admits the trainer, who shares ownership on the filly with his wife Annette Karina Johansen through their Living Our Dreams stable.
“I always felt when she got it all together, she had plenty of power, but it’s only the last couple of weeks, when I asked her to pace a lot more, she actually turned a corner,” he adds. “And she turned the right corner; she went forward and put it all together. Some can take that step ahead, and others just can’t.”
The next step for the filly, a $9,000 purchase at last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale, is learning how to race. McCall has opted to continue in his role as her primary instructor and will steer the filly himself on Monday rather than handing off to a catch driver.
“If I make a mistake I only have my wife to yell at me,” quips McCall. “We’re just hoping we can get around and have a little fun.
“We have to teach her to race now. It seems like she has the speed,” he adds. “We just want to get off the gate, and around, and let her finish a little.”
With only two eliminations lined up for Monday, the top five finishers from each will earn a return ticket to Mohawk for the $130,000 Gold Final on July 20. Among the fillies Ice Ice Baby will face in the fifth race are Robert Stewart Stakes runners-up St Lads Trixie, Western Dancing, and Tiz To Dream, who will start from Posts 3, 4 and 9 respectively. Four of the other starters also have one race under their belt, while three head into the Gold Series season opener off a qualifier.
The first $40,000 Gold Elimination, Race 3 on Mohawk Racetrack’s 7:20 p.m. program, features four fillies with racing experience and six stepping straight out of the qualifying ranks.
In addition to the pair of Gold Series Eliminations, Monday’s program also features the Town Pro Series Final for three-year-old pacing fillies in Race 2.
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To view Monday’s harness racing entries, click here.