Higher And Higher is hoping to start her career out on high note as she heads into the $810,300 Shes A Great Lady on Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack fresh off last weekend’s two-length elimination win in 1:53.2
.
“I thought it was a great first start. I was quite impressed,” trainer Paul Reid told Trot Insider. “She’s a nice big, strong filly and I was very pleased with the way she came out of it.”
The two-year-old daughter of Western Terror is out of the Cambest mare Pro Bowl Best, who is full sister to 2000 Metro Pace winner Pro Bono Best. Owned by Bulletproof Enterprises of Boca Raton, Florida, Higher And Higher came into Reid’s care last October and while she has shown signs of potential from the start, a minor setback resulted in her career debut being the Shes A Great Lady.
“She’s been one of our best fillies all along,” said Reid. “A lot of the Western Terrors are quite athletic and they show you early on that they’re pretty capable of doing whatever you want to do. As her stakes schedule reflects, the owners and I thought pretty highly of her all year and hopefully she can finish up the end of the second part of the season on a positive note.
“We stopped at the Meadowlands for a couple of months and she had a little soreness issues. She popped a curb and that took a little while to get it set up where I thought she could continue dropping time to get ready to race. So we probably lost two or three weeks there. Once she rebounded and was sound again, she came right back on good.”
Heading into the rich final, Higher And Higher, who will start from Post 3 with Jack Moiseyev driving, has been assigned odds of 12-1 as she prepares to face off against fellow elim winners Rock N Soul (PP4, George Brennan) and the undefeated fillies Put On A Show (PP1, Jody Jamieson) and Fancy Filly (PP2, Brian Sears).
“I took her in to Mohawk on Tuesday and I had Jack Moiseyev go a last trip with her. We trained her a couple trips there just to make sure we have everything set for the final and he was very happy with the way she trained. I think we’re set up pretty good for tomorrow night.
“It’s a tough bunch all the way around I think, but I would say the two fillies in the one and the two hole [Put On A Show and Fancy Filly] are definitely the ones to beat."
Reid says he and the owners will decide what’s next for Higher And Higher following Saturday’s race. She is eligible to the Champlain Filly Stakes at Mohawk with divisions set for Friday, September 11 or the Three Diamonds at Harrah’s Chester with eliminations set for Sunday, September 13.
“You can’t do it by yourself,” added Reid, who is stabled at Ideal Training Centre North of Acton, Ont. and heads south in the winter to Spring Garden Ranch in Florida. “We’ve got a great staff and without the support of my fiancée, Laurie Rooney, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do.”
To view the entries for Saturday's stakes-packed program at Mohawk, click here.