Riding a four-race win streak, two-year-old pacing filly Epoxy Queen will get her first test against the Gold Series girls in the second of two $40,000 Gold eliminations at
Kawartha Downs on Saturday evening.
“She raced really good her last start,” explained Eric Adams, who conditions the talented filly for owner-breeder Millar Farms of Newmarket, Ont. “So we thought we would take a little run at the Gold Series and see how we make out.”
Epoxy Queen heads into her first Gold Series start off a gate-to-wire victory in an overnight event at Mohawk Racetrack on September 23 which saw her clock a personal best 1:53.2. Among the 14 fillies heading to Kawartha on Saturday, that clocking is second only to former Gold final winner Lauren, who recorded a 1:53 victory in her September 17 Gold elimination at Mohawk.
“She definitely looks like she can not look too far out of place with them,” said Adams.
“She’s good-gaited, she has good gate speed. That helps, she can get out of there pretty good and get spotted,” added the trainer. “And she is clean gaited. She can get over any size track; she’s handy.”
Adams was not always so complementary about the daughter of Camluck and $125,642 winner Tropicana Chris. On June 28 the horseman drove Epoxy Queen in her first qualifier, and the trip around the Grand River Raceway oval was not a memorable one.
“I actually drove her when we qualified her at Grand River, and she was a little funny,” recalled Adams. “She didn’t like the gate, she was looking at things, she was just a little funny.”
The filly had spent the winter in trainer Gregg McNair’s barn, and the Guelph, Ont. resident qualified Epoxy Queen two more times before sending her out in a July 26 elimination for Grand River Raceway’s Battle of the Belles Stakes, where she finished fourth. One week later the filly delivered a second fourth-place result in the Battle of the Belles consolation and owner George Millar opted to bring her home to his Newmarket farm, where Adams handles the training duties.
August 11 marked the filly’s Grassroots debut, and in her third outing over the Grand River oval she made a late miscue and finished second by a neck to Pindars Grin. On August 19 Epoxy Queen made her first visit to the winner’s circle off a 1:54.4 mile in an overnight event at Mohawk, and since then she has been flawless, picking up two more Grassroots trophies and clocking her personal best last week.
“She’s pretty professional about the whole thing now,” said Adams. “And good to work around here at the farm too. She’s a pleasure to have around.”
Adams has been delighted to have his first impressions of Epoxy Queen turned on their head, and says there is very little to fault about the filly at the mid-point in her freshman campaign.
“She’s a nice size, not too big, but she’s got a good body to her, she’s well proportioned,” he noted. “She’s just well rounded — well mannered, good gaited, gate speed, she’s just handy.
“You never know when you are working with them how they’re going to turn out but… she did.”
Woodville, Ont. resident Brad Rae, who engineered Grassroots wins for the filly at Kawartha Downs and Clinton Raceway will return to the race bike on Saturday and will steer Epoxy Queen from Post 3 in the fourth race. Divisional point leader Lauren will line up to her right at Post 4 and Battle of the Belles winner Village Janus will get Post 5.
The first Gold elimination is slated as Race 3, and will feature reigning Gold final champion Monkey On My Wheel from Post 1.
Kawartha Downs will send its first race onto the racetrack at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. All eyes will turn to watch the two-year-old pacing fillies in Races 3 and 4. The top four finishers from each elimination, plus one fifth-place finisher chosen by random draw, will return to the Fraserville oval on Saturday, October 9 for the second last $130,000 Gold final of their season.
Also on the card will be the first leg of the Bride To Be Pacing Series for fillies and mares which were maidens as of September 24, 2010. The first-leg splits will head to post as Races 5 and 6.
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(OSS)