When it comes to advancing to the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots post season, the odds are stacked against Lucky Encounter, but trainer Barry Treen is still looking forward to racing the three-year-old pacer at Georgian Downs this Saturday
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“I’ve only had the horse here a few weeks, but so far we’re really happy with him,” Treen said. “He’s just a nice horse to have around the barn.
“And he’s two fingers to drive,” the horseman added. “I drove him in his last start, and you couldn’t ask for a nicer horse to drive in a race.”
Treen piloted Lucky Encounter to a second-place finish in his Grassroots division at Flamboro Downs on September 9, which was the first top-five result the gelding had recorded in three Grassroots starts this summer. Treen has said the young pacer bounced back easily from the 1:54.4 effort, and he expects the son of Camluck--Breathles Encountr to be just as sharp this week.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) I’m planning on training him a slow double header and that will be about it,” the horseman noted. “He’s jogged all week and he came out of his last race real good, and I think he’ll go into the next race just as good.”
Treen conditions Lucky Encounter for Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, Ont., Kevin Kobus of Toronto, Ont. and Peter Howarth of Brampton, Ont. The partners purchased the gelding from Windsor, Ont. resident Bob McIntosh in early July and have watched the half-brother to $227,334 winner Breathdefying pick up a few second-place cheques, but they would love see him find the winner’s circle on Saturday.
A win is what the gelding will require if he hopes to extend his Grassroots season beyond this weekend’s contest, and Treen knows the competition will be stiff, as every trainer and driver have the same goal.
“We’re in a bad spot for points,” Treen admitted. “We need to get quite a few points to hopefully make the semifinal.
“Just looking at the draw, I thought we were in a nice race compared to a couple others,” he added.
Among the colts Treen and Lucky Encounter will face from Post 3 in Saturday’s sixth race are three currently ranked among the top 10 point earners. Rileys Luck, currently in eighth spot, has drawn the advantageous Post 1, Lyons Elite, sitting sixth, has drawn Post 2 and the fifth-ranked Pointed Victory has drawn the outside Post 8.
Whether or not Lucky Encounter can beat the odds and secure a berth in the September 23 semifinal, Treen is looking forward to racing the gelding for the remainder of this season and on into next year.
“I think he’s just going to be a nice little horse we can race at Woodbine this winter,” explained the resident of Rockwood, Ont. “He hasn’t really had a lot of starts this year, and he doesn’t have a lot of money made, so he’ll fit some of those late closers.”
“He’s just a real easy horse to get along with. They don’t fall off the tree like that every day,” the trainer-driver added, with a chuckle.
In addition to Race 6, the three-year-old pacing colts will fly around Georgian Downs during Races 7, 8 and 10.
To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Georgian Downs, click the following link: Saturday - Georgian Downs
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