Trainer Per Henriksen said his colt Clerk Magistrate was none the worse for wear after a recent lengthy road trip.
Clerk Magistrate travelled from his base in Ontario to win the American-National at Chicago’s Balmoral Park on August 23, then DuQuoin for a third-place finish to Deweycheatumnhowe in the World Trotting Derby, then back home to win his elimination for the Canadian Trotting Classic on September 6.
“No, rather the opposite, I think,” Henriksen said. “He got two such nice trips down there. He won so easy at Balmoral, never even had to talk to him and then he couldn’t go anywhere at DuQuoin [the horse was trapped along the rail in deep stretch and could not advance]. He was as good [on Saturday] as he’s ever been, I think.”
Henriksen said Clerk Magistrate rolls with the punches and never misses a speck of his meals due to stress. Clerk Magistrate has won six of 15 races this year and earned $495,427. In addition to the American-National, the colt won the Goodtimes at Mohawk in June and was third in the Stanley Dancer Memorial.
“He’s a pretty big horse,” Henriksen said. “He doesn’t care about anything. He eats everything you give him. If anything, we’ve got to go back on his feed or he’s going to gain too much.”
Deweycheatumnhowe, who suffered the first loss of his career in the CTC elim when beaten by Crazed, will start from Post 10 in the final. Dewey’s starting position might not have much impact on the way the race would ordinarily develop.
“Have you ever seen Ray not leave? He probably still thinks he’s the best and he wants to be close to the front,” Henriksen said. “He doesn’t want a traffic problem. I think, as we saw the other day, he might not be good enough to come first-over and win it.
“I think Timmy [Tetrick, driving Crazed] is going to leave of course and somebody else is going to take a pot shot in there, too, I would assume. I’m not so sure [Clerk Magistrate] needs a trip. I think my horse is very, very good right now. We’ll see how it is, but it would not surprise me if he was on the front or close to the front. If he’s got to come first-over, he’ll come first-over. That’s what you’ve got to do; he doesn’t care much about positions, my horse.”
Henriksen dispelled the oft-quoted belief the racing surface at Mohawk comes with shoeing needs unique to that track with horses needing more traction than usual. He does not change his shoeing with the racetrack.
“If I have a horse that goes good with something, I don’t change it, wherever I go,” he said. “That works for me, but if it doesn’t work for other people, it doesn’t work for them. I know people that put grabs and borium and whatever on a horse when they come up to Canada. I’ve got the same shoes I had at Balmoral and that I had at the Meadowlands.”
To view Saturday’s entries, click here.
(HRC, photo courtesy New Image Media)