Harness racing fans across Ontario are headed to Flamboro Downs this Sunday for the Dundas oval’s signature event, the $560,000 Confederation Cup
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“It should be a nice card of racing, and the weather is supposed to cooperate,” says trainer John Kopas, who will harness three colts during the $1 million matinee program.
The Milton resident will send Reach Higher after a share of $130,000 in the freshman trotting colt Gold Final, Keystone Raptor after a piece of the $130,000 pie in the two-year-old pacing colt Gold Final, and three-year-old pacing colt Shipps Xpectancy after a berth in the $560,000 Confederation Cup Final.
Reach Higher will be the first to carry the Kopas stable colours, making his bid for a Gold Final title from Post 3 in the fifth race. The half-brother to Kopas trainee Raising Rachel heads into Sunday’s contest off a solid victory in last weekend’s elimination, and Kopas says the youngster already exhibits some of the traits that have helped his elder sister bank $606,703 in her career thus far.
“They are similar in so much that both are very, very well gaited and both have excellent manners,” says the veteran conditioner. “He was a great looking yearling, well conformed and, I thought, just the right size. He is a little taller than his sister.”
Making his career debut in a division of the July 4 Bud Light Stakes at Flamboro, Reach Higher finished second to Ja El Express. He captured an elimination of the Gold Series season opener at Mohawk Racetrack 12 days later, but drew Post 10 in the final and finished a disappointing fifth.
Kopas says the colt fell ill after the July 23 Gold Final and wonders if the result — Ja El Express took home the trophy — would have been different had the Striking Sahbra son been at full strength.
“Afterward he scoped pretty dirty,” recalls Kopas. “I think if he had been himself he could have overcome the 10-hole. I think he’s going to round into a very, very nice colt before it’s all said and done.”
KR Stable of Milton, LLK Stable of Mississauga, Doug Millard of Woodstock and the late George Hempt of Camp Hill, PA acquired the colt for $140,000 at last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale, and through his early lessons Kopas says the colt was flawless aside from one frustrating little quirk.
“He had a tendency that he wanted to pull up in the backstretch,” the trainer explains. “So we took him out to the main track and jogged him the right way of the track for most of the winter, and eventually he got over being so foolish.”
Milton resident Steve Condren will steer Reach Higher in the Gold Final on Sunday, with the other elimination winners, Duke Maccallum, Pointe To Pointe, War King Ton and Quantum Antonio, starting from Posts 1, 7, 9, and 10 respectively.
After Shipps Xpectancy — who picked up his first win of the season in an Aug. 2 Gold Elimination — battles in the first of two $50,000 Confederation Cup Eliminations, Keystone Raptor and his two-year-old pacing colt peers will warm fans up for the marquee event.
Keystone Raptor earned his spot in the freshman pacing colt Gold Final with a third-place finish in last weekend’s elimination that saw him recover from an early break. Regular reinsman Jack Moiseyev will steer the Astreos son from Post 4, and Kopas is hoping for a solid effort from the leggy youngster.
“He’s a big lad, he really is. My brother said when it came time to eat his Flintstones, he ate them readily,” says Kopas wryly. “He’s the type, another couple starts and I think this colt will break loose. He’s kind of coming into himself right now. I look for his three-year-old year to be awfully good.”
Kopas shares ownership on the half-brother to Keystone Mystique ($165,346) with High Stakes Inc. of Moffat, John Fielding of Toronto and Clay Horner of Toronto. The partners acquired the youngster at last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale for $25,000, and have recouped $11,645 through his first four starts.
Keystone Raptor and his pacing colt peers will attempt to pad their bank balances in Race 11, with the $560,000 Confederation Cup Final slated as Race 12.
Post time for Flamboro Downs’ Sunday matinee program is 1:30 p.m.
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To view Sunday’s harness racing entries, click here.