The last time two-year-old pacing filly Tricky Wicky raced, the outing ended in disappointment for the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series leader for her division.
A homebred of David & John Prushnok of Indiana, Pa., the daughter of McWicked has been a dominant force all season long, winning all of her Grassroots starts with the exception of her last one out on Sept. 17 when she finished fourth, well behind winner Lady Cafe Au Lait, who won the event by 4-1/2 lengths.
Considering her dominance this season, one defeat doesn’t seem like all that big a deal. However, with the $75,000 Grassroots Finals going this Saturday (Sept. 28) at Woodbine Mohawk Park, any crack in what has been an invincible veneer is noteworthy to Tricky Wicky’s competitors who are also vying for the winner’s share of that championship pie.
Unfortunately for that competition, while anything can happen, there’s good logic explaining the uncharacteristic result from Tricky Wicky last week.
First off, she didn’t have the best post position, starting at the rail.
“Being on the inside here [at Woodbine Mohawk Park] is a tough assignment,” said driver Jody Jamieson.
“I wasn’t really disappointed in her but maybe disappointed in the trip I got,” Jamieson added. “I was kind of out the whole way, pretty much. I just thought she might have fired a bit, but I did give her a lot of work to do. So, I was happy with the effort, but it’s got to be better for the final.”
And there’s good reason to believe that there will be better effort for the final as, according to trainer Rene Dion, Tricky Wicky may not have been 100 per cent herself last week.
“The last Grassroots she didn’t seem to fire off like the way she’s been,” said Dion. “And, actually, I do have a few horses who are sick in the barn, and she was a bit sick.”
Heading into Saturday, Dion is sure that Tricky Wicky will be back to full health and ready for the season-ending showdown.
“I do have confidence in her for the weekend coming.”
Dion also just has great confidence in Tricky Wicky’s ability to turn it on when it matters, as that’s just her personality.
“Between training and racing, she’s two different horses,” Dion said. “When she trains, she has a tendency to be a little mellow. She does what she has to do, but that’s it.
“When you put her in the race and in the groove, she’s ready to go when she’s with other horses.”
Developed and campaigned early in her two-year-old season by stateside conditioner John Butenschoen, Dion took over training Tricky Wicky in July when she made her way north across the border.
Tricky Wicky has scored four wins — all in Grassroots action — across seven lifetime starts and has earned $43,760 so far in her young career, with $41,600 coming from Grassroots events alone. She'll look to add to that bankroll on Saturday as the 9-2 choice in the third race, starting from post three.
New for the OSS 50th Anniversary season, the winner of the Grassroots Championship may enter and draw into the Super Final if it does not fill with Gold Series point earners. The Super Finals will take place on Oct. 12 at Mohawk.
To view the full entries for Saturday's card of harness racing, click on one of the following links:
- Woodbine Mohawk Park - Saturday Entries || Saturday Program Pages (courtesy TrackIT)
(Ontario Sires Stakes)