Only 11 freshman pacing fillies will make their way behind the Mohawk Racetrack starting gate on Friday in a single Ontario Sires Stakes Gold elimination, and trainer Travis Umphrey is hoping newcomer Monkey On My Wheel will be among the 10 invited back for next week’s lucrative final.
“She’s done everything we’ve asked her, for sure,” said the resident of Guelph, Ont. “But we’ll see how she makes out Friday. Those are some pretty nice fillies she’s in with.”
Mohawk Racetrack railbirds got their first glimpse of Monkey On My Wheel in an August 24 qualifier which she captured by a neck with a 1:58 effort. Their second look at the daughter of Mach Three--Legislation came in a September 2 overnight event, where she again used a late kick to claim a half-length victory in 1:56.2.
“She’s only had one lifetime start, but she did it the right way, and hopefully she can keep it going,” said Umphrey, who shares ownership of Monkey On My Wheel with breeder Mac Nichol of Burlington, Ont.
Monkey On My Wheel will make her OSS debut from Post 5 in the fifth race, with regular reinsman Rick Zeron of Oakville, Ont. in the race bike. Reigning Gold final champion Lauren will start to her right in Post 6, while Battle of the Belles winner Village Janus gets the trailing Post 11.
“I kind of like that draw,” noted Umphrey. “Our filly, I don’t think we want to leave with her yet. She seems like she could get aggressive. So hopefully the flow works out for us.
“Our filly has a lot of late speed, a good kick coming for home,” he added.
Umphrey liked Monkey On My Wheel more or less from the moment fellow Albertan Nichol placed her in his care. As a result, Umphrey approached Nichol about acquiring a share of the filly and says the owner-breeder was gracious enough to acquiesce.
“I really liked her and he was nice enough to sell me a share of her,” recalled Umphrey. “I liked her gait, her conformation; she is a beautiful looking filly. She has a really nice body, a nice shoulder, her conformation is great, but it was mostly her gait I liked.
“As soon as I bought in on her I had to turn her out, she had some growing pains,” added the horseman, ruefully. “I thought I was the jinx, but it worked out.”
That time off did not alter Umphrey’s master plan for Monkey On My Wheel, which was always to start later in the season and limit her starts. If Monkey On My Wheel fits in among the province’s best she could race at most seven more times, fewer starts than some of her peers have had approaching the mid-point in the Gold Series season.
“I think it helps the longevity of their career if you don’t race them too hard as two-year-olds,” explained Umphrey. “That’s the way we trained her, aiming her for later in the year.”
Umphrey never trained a horse for Nichol while both still resided in Alberta, but the 41-year-old is certainly glad Nichol gave him the opportunity to be part of Monkey On My Wheel’s career. The partners are eager to see if the filly can find her calling among the province’s top freshman pacing fillies, who will line up behind the starting gate in Race 5 on Friday.
The top 10 finishers from the elimination will return to Mohawk for the $130,000 Gold final Saturday, September 25. First-race post time for this week’s program is 7:30 p.m.
To view the entries for Mohawk's Friday card, click here.
(OSS)