In advance of his impending Canadian debut, the media coverage for downunder pacing star Lazarus outside traditional harness racing outlets has officially begun.
With a seemingly-easy win over older pacers in the 2018 Dan Patch at Hoosier Park last Friday, all signs point to Woodbine Mohawk Park for Lazarus and next weekend's eliminations for the Canadian Pacing Derby. Supplemental entries for both the Canadian Pacing Derby and the Maple Leaf Trot are due on Monday (August 20) by 10:30 a.m.
“He’s a sweet horse, very well mannered and really smart,” driver Yannick Gingras told The Canadian Press in an article published in The Globe And Mail. “Those are what make great horses.
“Many horses have speed and can go fast but only so many have the whole package. There’s no doubt he’s the total package.”
Gingras was thankful to win under wraps given a horse's need to acclimate to a different hemisphere while also getting some much-needed work under his belt.
“We got to show how good he is without having to put him under any strain,” Gingras continued. “He hadn’t raced since February, he come from the other side of the world and only had one qualifier going into it.
“That was his first run so he’s going to get stronger.”
The horse to beat in the older pacing ranks was arguably McWicked, who rallied late to finish a well-beaten third. Both Lazarus and McWicked are expected to compete in the Canadian Pacing Derby, with elims slated for next Saturday (August 25) at Mohawk. Gingras is well aware of what it takes to win the event, capturing the 2012 edition with harness racing's richest horse, Foiled Again.
“The best horse in the division leading up to last weekend was McWicked and that horse was in the race and we beat him,” Gingras noted. “That’s not to say he won’t turn the table on us, that’s horse racing and who knows what can happen, but he beat a very strong field . . . yeah, I definitely think he has a shot.”