When Jason Gilchrist climbs onto the race bike behind Queen Of Terror at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Thursday evening, the Spencerville resident is hoping the three-year-old pacing filly is in the mood to race
.
“You just never know what kind of mood she’s going to be in, she’s either a monster or she doesn’t want to race,” says the trainer/driver, who will steer the filly from Post 7 in the third of six $24,000 Grassroots divisions. “Even behind the gate you can tell what kind of mood she’s in.”
In her Ontario Sires Stakes debut on July 10, Queen Of Terror showed up with her game face on and finished second to Coming Late in a 1:55 mile over the Grand River Raceway oval. However, back at Rideau Carleton in a July 23 overnight the Western Terror daughter was a well-beaten fifth in a 1:57.3 contest.
“One week she went in 1:55, and the next week she got beat in 1:57,” recalls Gilchrist. “She tripped out good; she just didn’t want to win.”
In spite of her moody nature, Gilchrist says Queen Of Terror has had endless quantities of racing luck since her sophomore debut in late March. Through 11 starts the filly has posted three wins, two seconds and two thirds, banking $19,665 for owner Lloyd Howley of Kars.
“Every time she sets foot on the track she’s had things go her way. The night she won in 1:55.4 she was sitting on the rail and everybody seemed to move over for her,” says Gilchrist with a chuckle. “She’s your good luck filly.”
In contrast, the other filly Gilchrist will steer in Thursday’s Grassroots competition has had bad luck since her very first race. Cruiser Hudson, trained by the reinsman’s father Louis Gilchrist for A K Malik Stable of Ottawa, was in an accident in her freshman debut and the winds of fate have yet to swing in a more positive direction for the diminutive pacer.
“Anything on the track that could happen, has happened to her,” notes Gilchrist.
Cruiser Hudson makes her sophomore Grassroots debut from Post 3 in the first $24,000 division on Thursday, and her driver is hoping the advantageous post means things are finally starting to shift in the filly’s favour.
“It’s at home, so we put her in. Hopefully she can trip out,” says Gilchrist.
“This whole year, she gets out and gets dead cover, she’s been three-wide so much,” he adds. “She’s just had a tough year. She hasn’t had much racing luck at all.”
In spite of her lack of luck, Cruiser Hudson has been able to amass a record of four wins, one second and three thirds in 11 starts for earnings of $17,262. While Thursday’s outing marks her first appearance in the Ontario Sires Stakes program this season, the Camluck miss recorded a fifth in Trillium action and a fourth in a Grassroots division as a two-year-old, both over her local oval.
Gilchrist expects the competition to be tough in the second race as division point leader Run To Vegas lines up from Post 2 and tenth ranked Stonebridge Breeze gets Post 4.
Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Thursday evening program gets under way at 6:30 p.m., with the talented three-year-old pacing fillies squaring off in their fourth Grassroots event in Races 2, 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11.
To view Thursday's harness racing entries, click here.
(OSS)