The eighth edition of the Balanced Image stakes for two-year-old trotters is set to kick off on Saturday night, and in the first year of the event being split by sex, there are some impressive entries into the 2012 edition of the event.
In the first colts division, OSS Gold competitor Ark Went In will look to topple his foes for trainer-driver Bjorn Noren. The Ken Warkentin novice has tasted Ontario Sires Stakes victory once this season in a Gold Series elimination at Mohawk Racetrack by way of a 1:58.4 win on July 16.
Noren, who will be making his first trip ever to Hanover Raceway, says he thought Ark Went In would be a good Grassroots horse, but he has exceeded expectations.
“He trained down very good, and qualified good for me, so we’ve been racing him in the Golds. He raced very good at Mohawk, but got overdriven in the final and didn’t finish well. He’s been a little sick and wasn’t 100 per cent at Grand River, but he trained good this week so we decided to bring him to Hanover.”
The trainer also noted that the colt raced very well in Clinton despite making a break in the first turn. He has little concern about his rookie getting around the half-mile oval in Hanover though, explaining “he cannot rush out off the gate, but after that first turn he gets going.”
Meeting Noren’s colt will be North York, the top Grassroots two-year-old colt in 2012. The Rene Laarman pupil has finished off the toteboard only once in five OSS Grassroots starts, including wins at Clinton Raceway and Rideau Carleton Raceway. Mario Baillargeon is listed to drive.
Race eight will be the second of three divisions for colts and Dewer Kash headlines the field. He sits fifth overall in OSS money earnings with $54,480 bankrolled in stakes action in his freshman campaign. Joseph Parkinson conditions the Muscle Mass son and has slotted regular driver Stephen Byron into the bike, looking to steer Dewer Kash to victory, something the talented rookie hasn’t managed in OSS action in 2012.
One colt looking to stand in his way will be Power Move. Ted Jacobs co-owns, trains and drives the Muscle Mass colt that currently sits fourth in the OSS Grassroots standings. Consistency has been the key for Power Move in his young career, as he has finished on the toteboard in each of his five Grassroots races, including one win in 2:00.1 at Georgian Downs on August 14.
The final Balanced Image elimination will be contested as race 10 on the Saturday night program, and it is a wide open affair. Gregg McNair trainee Buddy Hally will leave from the rail with Randy Fritz in tow. The McNair-Fritz team has had plenty of success at Hanover Raceway in the past including a win in the 2010 Dream Of Glory with Krakatoa. Buddy Hally sits 15th in the Grassroots standings with a win, a second and a third in three starts. The colt’s 2:01 victory on August 24 at Rideau Carleton Raceway bodes well for his chances at heading to the colts final on September 8.
Balanced Image eliminations will take place on Saturday night with the colts going postward in races two, eight and 10. Then, the finals will take place Saturday, September 8 as part of the 10th annual All-Trot Night. The event is the only full card of trotting races in North America, and will also feature Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots three-year-old trotting fillies, and the Walker Memorial Invitation.
To view entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Saturday Entries – Hanover Raceway.
(With files from Hanover Raceway)