Im Just Special is out of Colby's Artiscape mare Ladys Special Girl p,2,1:52.4m ($149,078). Ladys Special Lady -- a top stakes filly at two -- suffered a freak farm injury at three which cut her racing career short. Although Im Just Special was average at two, she has blossomed in the last couple of months, showing Colby some striking resemblances between mother and daughter.
"Both mother and daughter have the same attitude and desire," Colby told Trot Insider. "Put them on the racetrack and you know you're going to get their best effort. You would probably be able to pick them out of a crowd, because they both have two white socks behind, which makes it easy to spot them on the racetrack."
Colby told Trot Insider that he and the rest of the connections of Im Just Special knew that there was something wrong with the filly in her juvenile campaign. Not even top conditioner Tom Artandi, who trained the filly's dam, could figure out what the problem was.
"The truth of the matter is, that she did have issues, but no veterinarian from Florida to Ontario could pinpoint them," Colby said. "They all had different opinions and even a nuclear scan did nothing to confirm any of them. Whatever they were, they thankfully are history.
"From the day she started back training in December, Tom told me that she was a different horse. Not because of a change in attitude or desire, which she always had, but because her gait was much smoother. To this day we have no idea what happened to improve it."
Though she was making steady progress, the filly's success didn't come instantly this season. Colby believes that an overnight series offered by the Woodbine Entertainment Group provided the stage for the filly to have her coming out party.
"My feeling is that she really started to race to her potential in the Ontario Sired Spring Series," Colby said. "She was beaten by Has An Attitude by a diminishing half length and from that point on she has gotten better and better. Naturally her best race to date was the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final that she won after leaving into a :26.1 first quarter, being taken back to fourth on the rail and then racing first over for next five-eighths of a mile."
With the CBC elims this weekend, Colby is well aware that the stars could be aligning in his favour, but he isn't letting the situation sway his grounded outlook.
"Going into the CBC eliminations, my main thought is how fortunate I am to be able to compete at such a high level once again. She's in with a very competitive field. Mike Saftic has driven her excellently and certainly knows her well. Jean Belliveau, Tom's great assistant in Ontario, will certainly have her ready. I'm just hoping she's brings her 'A' game and that the race is free from mishaps which would spoil it for everyone."
To view the entries for Mohawk's Friday CBC elims, in which Im Just Special will be participating, click here.
To view the entries for Mohawk's Saturday CBC elims, click here.