On July 21, Lovely Vacation captured the Canadian Breeders Championship with a gritty front end effort, and that is the last time this summer that the three-year-old trotting filly raced.
“We had the vet come in and do a hock injection and unfortunately it got infected. She spent three weeks at the Milton Equine Hospital,” explained trainer Mark Steacy, who will harness the filly for the first time in over two months in the first of two Gold eliminations at Grand River Raceway on Wednesday, Oct. 3.
“At the time, we didn’t think she’d race again,” he added.
Successful veterinary treatment, hours of after care by daughter-in-law Melissa Steacy and the filly’s own mental and physical toughness fortunately proved that initial assessment incorrect.
Steacy shipped the filly into Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sept. 20 for a qualifier and qualified her a second time on Sept. 27. The Lansdowne, Ont. resident is hoping those two outings will be enough to get the filly through Wednesday’s elimination round.
“She was just ordinary in her qualifiers,” admitted the trainer. “She seems to be sound on it, now it’s just a matter of getting her strength back.
“She might not be that tight for this week, but hopefully she can get to the final of this and then she’ll be that much tighter in two weeks time,” he continued.
Working to Lovely Vacation’s advantage is the draw; she will start at post one, and the size of the field, only five fillies will compete in each of the $40,000 Gold eliminations. The top four finishers will advance to the Oct. 10 Gold Final, the last regular season event before the season ending Super Final.
With just one Gold Series under her belt, where she scored a second in her elimination and a then made a break and finished ninth in the final, Lovely Vacation will also have to accumulate a few more points at Grand River if she hopes to extend her Ontario Sires Stakes season. Her 25 points currently have her ranked 11th and only the top 10 point earners compete in the Super Final.
While he is hopeful, Steacy is not sure what to expect from Lovely Vacation on Wednesday. It may take time to gauge the impact of the filly’s ordeal on her physical and mental health.
“She’s always been a tough cookie. That’s what her biggest attribute was, she was so tough,” reflected the trainer. “Hopefully she hasn’t lost that edge.”
Steacy conditions the daughter of Majestic Son and Short Vacation for his son Shawn Steacy of Lansdowne, Ont., David McDonald of Cornwall, Ont., Joe Loring of Canmore, Alta. and Dr. Malcolm Man Son Hing of Campbell River, B.C. After racing the filly in the Grassroots last season, the partners had been thoroughly enjoying her sophomore success.
In 11 starts before being sidelined, Lovely Vacation had captured her Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association Stake elimination in a personal best 1:54.3 and triumphed in the Canadian Breeders Championship. She had also posted six seconds and one third for sophomore earnings of $185,607.
“Every time you start to do good, you think you’ve got it all licked, the next day things go wrong,” said Steacy. “We are keeping our fingers crossed.”
Regular reinsman Randy Waples is slated to guide Lovely Vacation on Wednesday and the pair face reigning Gold Final champion Miss Paris from post three as well as fourth and fifth ranked fillies Smarty Pants and Daylon Miracle from posts four and two, respectively.
The other $40,000 Gold elimination features former Gold Final winner Lexus Helios from post three and second ranked point earner Sugar Wheeler from post four.
The top four finishers from each Gold elimination will return to Grand River Raceway for the last Gold Final of their careers on Oct. 10.
Grand River Raceway sends its first race into the starter’s hands at 7:05 p.m. on Wednesday, turning the spotlight on Lovely Vacation and her three-year-old trotting filly peers in races two and six.
To view Wednesday's harness racing entries, click on the following link: Wednesday Entries - Grand River Raceway.
(With files from OSS)