Tymal Breezee may have less Grassroots experience than the other fillies in Saturday’s eighth race, but the two-year-old trotter calls Sudbury Downs home and trainer France MacLean is hoping that gives the filly a modest
advantage in the $24,000 contest.
“She should have a bit of an advantage, she trained down over this track,” says the Chelmsford resident. “And I’m going to school her a little trip on Wednesday to give her a little more experience.
“As long as she stays flat she could be a contender.”
Tymal Breezee made her racing debut in the Aug. 13 Grassroots event at Sarnia’s Hiawatha Horse Park, delivering a solid third-place finish in a 2:01 mile. The filly made her second lifetime start at Mohawk Racetrack on Aug. 23, but made a break leaving the starting gate and never quite regained her footing for driver Paul MacDonell.
“There were a bunch of horses around her and she got a little hot,” notes MacLean. “That’s twice we’ve take her to Mohawk and she’s made a break.”
Tymal Breezee also made a break in her July 15 qualifier at the Campbellville oval and had to return home to Sudbury Downs for a July 27 qualifier where she laid down a flawless mile in 2:06.3.
MacLean conditions Tymal Breezee for Gerry and Brenda Gauthier of Azilda and her husband Paul MacLean of Chelmsford, and says the daughter of Angus Hall and former Ontario Sires Stakes competitor Catchmeanangel has a feisty personality on the racetrack.
“She’s a little fire cracker. She’s smart in the barn, but she gets fired up on the racetrack,” says the trainer. “She’s got a little bit of, what do you call it, piss and vinegar, in her.”
Paul MacLean will steer Tymal Breezee from Post 5 in Saturday’s eighth race, tackling a field of seven Grassroots veterans, including division co-leader Lovely Vacation at Post 7. With 12 points earned in her first Grassroots appearance, MacLean does not expect Tymal Breezee to advance into the post season this year, but she is hopeful the filly will return to the OSS program at three.
“I’m hoping maybe she’ll grow a little and mature and be a real nice three-year-old, because she’s got the speed, she’s shown me that,” notes the horsewoman.
Purchased out of last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale for $22,000, Tymal Breezee learned her early lessons from MacLean’s father-in-law Wayne MacLean, an arrangement the trainer says is of great benefit to the young horses.
“For the last two years he’s broke all my babies. He’s got a lot of patience, and he’s done that all his life,” explains the trainer. “He knows how to rig them up right from the start. Especially with trotters, you’ve got to have them shod right and everything.”
The Gauthier and MacLean families will be on hand to cheer Tymal Breezee home on Saturday night and MacLean says they will all be hoping the filly can deliver a local success story.
“She doesn’t have to go far. I think it should give her an advantage,” MacLean speculates. “We’ll be crossing our fingers.”
A total of 58 two-year-old trotting fillies will make the trip to Sudbury Downs for Saturday night’s Grassroots event, competing for a total of $168,000 in seven divisions, slated as Races 2 through 4 and 6 through 9. Sudbury Downs sends its first race into the starter’s hands at 7:15 p.m.
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To view entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Sudbury Downs.