For the past four years, Flamboro Downs' Confederation Cup has been dominated by Grand Circuit trainers such as Jimmy Takter and Ron Burke. While this year’s final of Flamboro's signature race will see three Burke trainees, there is one horse that sets himself apart as the 'ghost' horse of the field.
Nick Gallucci of Brantford, Ont. has held a trainer’s license for the last seven years and has now worked his way up to a stable of 20 horses, racing primarily at Ontario’s premiere track, Woodbine Mohawk Park. Although the 31-year-old has raced for six figures a handful of times, this Sunday will surely be the highlight of his career thus far when he sends out Ghost Dance for the $188,500 Confederation Cup Final.
Gallucci, who took over training duty of Ghost Dance in late April from trainer Eric Adams for owner Millar Farms, noted he was very impressed with Ghost Dance from the moment he arrived.
“The younger horses that George (Millar) owns usually stay with Eric, but when they become aged horses, he generally sends them out (to other trainers)," Gallucci told Trot Insider. "I’ve trained horses for them before and had some success, so I really appreciated the opportunity to train him.”
Gallucci was also pleased with Ghost Dance after his May 6 qualifier at Mohawk, a solid 1:53.1 mile in his first appearance for his new trainer. That mile set the stage for Ghost Dance to make his seasonal debut in his Confederation Cup elimination.
With veteran driver Randy Waples at the controls, the four-year-old son of American Ideal finished a respectable third in his trial. After clearing 2018 O’Brien Award winner Jimmy Freight past the half-mile marker, Ghost Dance fronted the field to a 1:24.1 third quarter and finished just a length and a quarter behind Dorsoduro Hanover and Rockin Speed. Ghost Dance punched his ticket to the Confederation Cup Final, finishing ahead of some of the most highly-touted four-year-olds in harness racing -- that group includes Jimmy Freight (fourth), favoured Courtly Choice (fifth) and Lather Up (eighth).
“He has a great attitude and he’s flawlessly-gaited. It doesn’t matter what track you race him on, he’s going to give you 100 percent no matter what,” said Gallucci of Ghost Dance. “I wasn’t expecting too much given the horses we were against, but he really surprised me. It was his first start of the year and he was a little grabby but Randy just let him do his thing and it worked out for us.”
As a new year progresses, Gallucci is setting new goals for himself and having no problem conquering them. His 2018 season was his best year yet with his trainees banking almost $700,000 in purse earnings and finding their way to the winner's circle 49 times. With seven months left in 2019, Gallucci’s stable has already won 24 races and banked more than $337,000. With personal bests in sight, he noted how much of an honour it is to have a horse qualified for and racing in the Confederation Cup in what could be a career year.
“I grew up at Flamboro Downs with my grandfather and this is one of the races we never missed. I’m very grateful to have a horse that is able to compete in this race and hopefully he can do well in my grandfather’s memory.”
A task that appeared to be monumental received added complexity when Ghost Dance drew the trailing post position nine in Sunday's Confederation Cup Final. Gallucci remained optimistic given the horses that drew in front of him are two of the division's best -- 2018 Dan Patch Award winner Dorsoduro Hanover (PP1) and 2018 O'Brien Award winner Jimmy Freight (PP2).
“I think we’re following some good horses and Randy will have some options because the inside two have good gate speed,” Gallucci said regarding the draw. The oddsmakers looked favourably upon Ghost Dance based on his elimination effort and installed him as the fourth choice on the morning line at 4-1.
The results of the post position draw for the Confederation Cup appear below.
Confederation Cup (Final)
(PP - Horse - Driver - Trainer - Odds)
1 - Dorsoduro Hanover - M. Kakaley - R. Burke - 5-2
2 - Jimmy Freight - L. Roy - R. Moreau - 3-1
3 - Pretty Handsome - J. Drury - A. McCabe - 15-1
4 - American History - S. Filion - T. Alagna - 12-1
5 - Done Well - D. Dunn - R. Burke - 7-5
6 - The Downtown Bus - D. McNair - J. Gillis - 7-1
7 - Rockin Speed - B. Davis - J. Seekman - 15-1
8 - This Is The Plan - J. Bongiorno - R. Burke - 20-1
9 - Ghost Dance - Ra. Waples - N. Gallucci - 4-1
AE1 - Courtly Choice
The Confederation Cup Final will be streamed live on the Standardbred Canada website, the first of three races sponsored by the Central Ontario Standardbred Association that will also be streamed on Facebook Live.
The one-hour broadcast, part of a three-race series sponsored by the Central Ontario Standardbred Association (COSA), will cover the $188,500 Confederation Cup along with the ninth race which is a $23,150 Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots division for three-year-old filly pacers.
Mark McKelvie and Greg Blanchard will be on the desk while Jaimi MacDonald will provide paddock coverage during the show which will be aired via the Flamboro Downs, Grand River Raceway and Raceway at Western Fair District Facebook pages and streamed over the Standardbred Canada website.
To view the harness racing entries for Sunday at Flamboro, click the following link: Sunday Entries – Flamboro Downs.