S K Crosby was born and raised in Grey County, but the two-year-old pacer will make his first start at Hanover Raceway in one of six $24,000 Grassroots divisions
this Saturday, September 4.
“He’s stabled just outside of Hanover, but we’ve never raced him there,” said the gelding’s co-owner, Mike McLaughlin. “The day we went to qualify him at Hanover it was rained out, so he had to qualify at Georgian Downs.”
In that July 31 qualifier S K Crosby finished a solid second, as he paced his own mile in 2:02.2 in rein to former Hanover resident Mark Etsell. The son of How Fleet He Is made his first start one week later at Grand River Raceway, where he was second once again, missing the top spot by a nose in 2:00.2. One week later S K Crosby made the trip to Clinton Raceway for an overnight test and delivered yet another runner-up effort in 2:03, piloted by Walkerton resident Terry Fritz.
With two consistent performances under the gelding’s belt, McLaughlin and his partner, trainer James Hastie of Hanover, decided to give S K Crosby a shot at the Grassroots Series. The young pacer made the long trip to Sudbury Downs on August 21 and delivered a fourth-place result in spite of losing a head pole during the race.
The gelding heads into his second Grassroots test off a smart victory at Clinton Raceway on August 29 that saw him overcome the outside Post 7 to record a 2:01.2 personal best.
“He’s made us a bit of money right off the bat,” said McLaughlin, who makes his home in Durham, Ont. “He’s just a small horse, but he’s a fighter for us.”
S K Crosby is the first foal that McLaughlin and Hastie have bred and raised and the partners are thoroughly enjoying the youngster’s early season success. McLaughlin is hoping the gelding can pick up another share of the $24,000 Grassroots pie on Saturday, but figures nothing will dampen the enthusiasm of the S K Crosby cheering section.
“This is our baby. There will be lots cheering him on,” said the owner. “Quite a few will be going over that night to watch him.”
Stuart Sowerby will steer S K Crosby from Post 4 in the seventh race, and the pair face a tough field, including former Grassroots winner Hi Sir from Post 1 and former Gold Series starter Trek Seelster from Post 2.
“There’s some stiff competition coming up against us,” McLaughlin noted. “But I figure he can go in 1:59 at Hanover.
“We’re hoping for a cheque, hoping he gets around okay,” added the owner. “We’re hoping for the best.”
In addition to the talented two-year-old pacing colts, Hanover Raceway will also play host to some of the province’s top freshman trotters on Saturday evening in the $48,000 final of the Balanced Image Stakes. McLaughlin is also looking forward to the retirement ceremony for half-mile warrior C Ws Special, who will make his swan song in the eighth race.
“He made about $500,000, mostly on half-mile tracks,” said McLaughlin of C Ws Special, who is owned by Pat and Carol Dwyer of Elmwood. ”Our horse is now in C Ws stall out at (Bud) Fritz’s and I was saying, it will be our first race at Hanover and his last race at Hanover.”
First-race post time for Hanover Raceway’s action-packed Saturday evening program is 7:15 pm, with the two-year-old pacing colts displaying their Grassroots skills in Races 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10. The 12-year-old C Ws Special will make his final appearance in Race 8, and the two-year-old trotters will battle for the Balanced Image trophy in Race 9.
To view the entries, click here.
(OSS)