He's not long in the tooth by any means, but this is not Jim Campbell's first rodeo. So he's fully aware of the ups and downs presented by the harness racing game.
You win a Breeders Crown elimination with a filly that's 11-1-1 in 14 starts.
You scratch that horse from the final and ponder her future.
You still have two Breeders Crown finalists, including a colt that's yet to lose in nine lifetime starts.
You take the bye with said colt and draw the nine hole -- the second outermost post.
Welcome to Jim Campbell's week.
Add in that a promising two-year-old trotting filly of his almost lost an eye in an early season race this year. It's a testament to Campbell's professionalism that he's been able to bring her back and have her competing in the Breeders Crown at the conclusion of a season that could have gone sideways quite easily.
Campbell, who won his first of four Breeders Crown titles with Galleria in 1998, sheds light on the injury suffered by Millies Possesion and offers his thoughts his two Breeders Crown starters with TROT's Rachel Oenema. Campbell sends out two-year-old trotting filly Madame Sherry in the sixth race on Friday (Oct. 25) at Woodbine Mohawk Park before undefeated Real Cool Sam makes his Canadian debut in the eighth race.
In 2002, Campbell's Broadway Hall concluded his perfect freshman season on Canadian soil with a Breeders Crown win at Woodbine Racetrack but the veteran trainer feels no added pressure given the unblemished scorecard of Real Cool Sam.
"Obviously you'd like to keep the streak going but it's not something that plays on my mind or anything like that," said Campbell at Tuesday's Breeders Crown post draw. "My job is to prepare him the best I can for the race and after that it's out of my control.
"Competition is tough, very tough out there. There are a lot of trotters that can go fast. If you spend your time worrying about keeping the horse undefeated then you're concentrating on the wrong things."
Breeders Crown finals for two-year-olds will be contested on Friday at Mohawk. The finals for three-year-olds and older horses will be showcased on Saturday. Racing will begin at 7:00 p.m. (EDT) on both nights. The Libfeld-Katz Breeding Partnership is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Breeders Crown.
Friday
► Entries
► Program Pages (courtesy of TrackIT)
Saturday
► Entries
► Program Pages (courtesy of TrackIT)