Monday, July 14 marks the second event in an exciting month of Ontario Sires Stakes action at Grand River Raceway.
On the heels of a track record performance by sophomore pacing filly Shake That Junk, the Elora oval will play host to the debuts of 37 talented two-year-old pacing fillies in five $20,000 Grassroots events.
Among the novice pacers hoping to make their mark on the provincial circuit this summer is Sweet Calypso, and trainer Ian Reid is expecting a stronger effort from the filly than she delivered in her first lifetime start at Grand River on July 4.
"She qualified good, but her first start I was a little disappointed, I thought she should have been second," recalls Reid, who conditions the filly for his partner Allan Pootoolal's Island Heat Stable of Guelph. "But she ended up being sick. She had a high white (blood cell) count and a cough."
Sweet Calypso sat second for much of the July 4 mile, but faded to fifth in the stretch, something Reid does not expect to happen now that the Peruvian Hanover daughter has regained her health.
"She jogged good today (Thursday); it was the first time I jogged her," says the Campbellville resident. "Her cough is gone and her temperature is good. She will, hopefully, be 100% by Monday."
Pootoolal and Reid purchased the filly for $30,000 from the Two's In Training Sale at Mohawk Racetrack on June 8.
The pair went to see a Peruvian Hanover colt, but the filly caught their eye with the effortless way she delivered a training mile over the Campbellville oval. Taught her early lessons by Lucan resident Glen Hardy, Reid says Sweet Calypso was ready to go when she arrived in his barn.
"Glen Hardy did a great job with her. I've just had to train her one trip and qualify her. There wasn't much for me to do," says the horseman.
One thing her new owners did do was change the filly's name. Christened Windsong Frenchkiss by breeder William Loyens of London, Pootoolal and Reid had settled on a more musical moniker within two days of the sale.
Stepping out as Sweet Calypso in a June 20 qualifier at Mohawk, the filly delivered a solid fourth-place effort in 2:00 and convinced her owners they were headed for the Sires Stakes.
In hindsight Reid admits he should have known the young pacer was off her game heading into the July 4 start, but he is confident that Sweet Calypso will be able to bounce back and deliver a strong effort on Monday.
"She seems game, she wants to do it. Where she bottoms out, I don't know yet," he explains. "I think she'll be a better filly than she shows so far, because she wants to do it."
Sweet Calypso and driver Jason Brewer will benefit from the advantageous Post 1 in Monday's fourth race, the third $20,000 Grassroots division. Among the fillies the pair will face is Stonebridge Breeze, a recent 1:59.2 winner at Grand River who will start from Post 3.
The other four Grassroots divisions will take centre stage at the Grand River Raceway oval in Races 2, 3, 5, and 7. Post time for the Monday, July 14 program is 7:30 p.m.
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To view Monday's entries, click here.