Just six days after they battled in their third Gold Final, Ontario’s top three-year-old trotting colts return to action on Saturday evening at Mohawk Racetrack.
Only 12 colts will contest one $40,000 Gold Elimination and Bob Burgess is hoping Yackety Yak is having one of his good days. In his sophomore Gold Series debut at Flamboro Downs on Aug. 5, Yackety Yak was a solid second in his elimination, but in last Sunday’s Gold Final the colt made a break and finished at the back of the pack.
“He was good; then he was bad on Sunday,” says the Campbellville resident, who shares ownership of the colt with his daughter-in-law Karin Olsson Burgess of Milton, Archie Leach of London and P G Van Camp Stables of Port Perry.
In eight starts this season Yackety Yak has tallied two wins — recording a 1:56.4 personal best at Georgian Downs on July 17 — and one second for earnings of $18,500. The offspring of Majestic Son-Armbro Talk has shown moments of ability, but has frustrated trainer Blair Burgess’ efforts to mould him into a consistent player on the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit.
“He does have high speed, but Blair is having trouble getting it to show on a steady basis,” notes Burgess. “I’m not sure he’s a real horse yet, he’s an inner-outer at the moment.”
That inconsistency prompted his trainer to start Yackety Yak at the Grassroots level in the July 2 event at Grand River Raceway, but an outside post on the half-mile oval did not help the colt in his efforts to find a niche on the provincial circuit and he finished well back in seventh.
The win at Georgian Downs, which saw Yackety Yak sprint home 12 and one-quarter lengths ahead of the non-winners of two races field, convinced the colt’s connections to give him a shot at the Gold Series and his elimination performance gave them brief hope before his Gold Final effort once again deflated their expectations.
“He’s a good trotter, but we are having trouble demonstrating that,” says Burgess. “I’m not sure he knows he’s good yet.
“He has a very fascinating name and if he could do some good we could have some fun with him,” adds the longtime owner.
Yackety Yak will make his third Gold Series start from Post 8 in the 12-horse field on Saturday, a factor that is limiting Burgess’ expectations. With two trailers following the horses on the gate, the competition for a forward-placed spot on the rail will be intense and Yackety Yak’s best races have come when he was in the mix early.
In order to advance to next Saturday’s Gold Final Yackety Yak and his peers will need to finish in the top 10, the last two colts across the finish line will be eliminated.
Saturday’s contest marks the return of Hambletonian starters Prestidigitator and Knows Nothing to the Ontario Sires Stakes program. Prestidigitator, who captured the Gold Final at Georgian Downs on July 7, will start from Post 4, while Hambletonian elimination winner Knows Nothing, a Grassroots winner at Mohawk on May 21, makes his first Gold Series start from Post 7.
Ontario’s talented three-year-old trotting colts wage their fourth Gold Series battle in the sixth race on Mohawk Racetrack’s Saturday evening program, which also features three divisions of the Nassagaweya Stake for two-year-old pacing colts and two divisions of the Eternal Camnation Stake for two-year-old pacing fillies. The Campbellville oval’s first race is scheduled to go postward at 7:10 p.m.
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To view entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Mohawk Racetrack.