Friday night's Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack is set to celebrate some top three-year-old fillies.
Chancey Lady (PP6, M. Saftic) is on a roll heading into her rich tilt. Rated the 4-5 favourite heading into the $179,300 SBOA Pace among a field of eight, the Camluck filly is expected to expand her win streak to four for trainer John Pentland.
Chancey Lady has earned over a half-million dollars so far in 2008, as she swept a pair of Ontario Sires Stakes Gold events and snared Mohawk's $733,031 Fan Hanover Stakes in mid June.
"She's just a sweetheart, and a real natural to train, but she does have issues with tying up," Pentland, who recently took over training of Chancey Lady, told the Woodbine Entertainment Group publicity department. "I think we've got her figured out now to keep her from doing that, but we do watch her pretty closely.
"It's going to be kind of a funny race. We drew the six hole, which I don't exactly see as an advantage; and Artandi's filly, Im Just Special, is to her outside in Post 8, which could factor in. [Im Just Special] is a really nice filly and one of these nights she's going to catch us."
In terms of racing strategy, Pentland seemed to echo what Chancey Lady's racelines state.
"I really don't know how it's going to set up, but so far I think Chancey Lady prefers to chase them down than be on the front end," Pentland explained. "The two times I've raced her, she was far better off the pace. She's not a hot horse, so you can wait with her. The only thing about her is she can be a little tricky to get off the gate, but if (driver Mike Saftic) brings her up to it rather than sitting on it, she should be okay."
Among the trotters, the Kevin O'Reilly-trained Bella Dolce (PP3, P. MacDonell) is the overwhelming 1-5 morning line favourite for the $201,300 SBOA Trot (Race 3, 8:10 p.m.) and is also on a roll.
The daughter of Kadabra has been hitting her stride recently, as she is on a five-race win streak which has included sweeps of the Canadian Breeders Championships and an Ontario Sires Stakes event. The streak has come after the filly has gotten over early season trouble in which she ailed from an injured gluteal muscle.
Click here to view the entries for Mohawk's Friday card.
(With files from WEG)