A familiar face was back in action this past Saturday at the Miami Fair and made his presence well-known. Glenn Le Drew returned after a four-year layoff and it did not seem to give him any disadvantage as he won six races on a single card for the first time in his career.
Le Drew started off the day with a bang, winning in 1:58:4 aboard eight-year-old gelding Read The Proposal in the fastest mile on the card. That mile was a sign of things to come: in eight starts, Le Drew finished in the top three a total of seven times to place him atop the driver stats for the track.
Le Drew has teamed up with leading trainer Trevor Williams and the duo look unstoppable after the first day of racing in Manitoba. Now in his 18th year of driving, Le Drew has banked $481,859 in winnings in his career. Through seven years of training, Williams has won $269,077 in purses and the two horsemen have 483 wins combined.
When asked about the driver change to Le Drew this summer, Williams responded “Honestly, my driver has always been Don Howlett,” said Williams when asked about his partnership with Le Drew. “[Don] has always handled my horses and done amazing, but this year he bought some Manitoba Breds (a colt and a filly) that left me without a driver in stakes for my colt and filly. Most drivers here already had one in there as well, so I thought outside of the box and went with someone whose driving style suits my horses and someone I know who has had a lot of success in the past. And because he is travelling so far, it’s only fair I offer him the whole barn. Even with four years off, I knew my horses were in very capable hands.”
The Howlett and Williams tandem has been one of the top connections at the Manitoba Circuit for some time now and the split has created somewhat of a Brady-Belichick rivalry with Williams and his new partner Le Drew winning the first round. However, Howlett should not be counted out as he has 523 wins as a driver, netting him $549,540 in purse winnings.
Le Drew is also happy with the summer-long partnership and is more than happy to make the long commute from Regina, SK to Miami, MB — a round trip that clocks in at 1,060 kilometres and more than 10 hours of driving — every weekend. “Trevor wanted a commitment from me, and I wanted a commitment from him. We got off to a great start and as long as there are horses for me to drive, I am glad to make the drive out there.”
The news breaking regarding Saskatoon hosting harness racing again this fall gave the Saskatchewan-based Le Drewmore motivation to return this year. “When the news broke, I thought it would be nice to come back driving this year. I would really like the chance to drive at Marquis downs one more time,” Le Drew excitedly stated. The last time he drove in the Province of Saskatchewan was in July of 2014.
Although four years have passed since participating actively in August 2017, nothing has really changed for Le Drew. He proudly displayed the same silks he had on before his brief leave. Family is at the forefront of importance in harness racing and the Le Drew family is no different. His decision on wearing his same colours was an easy decision. “Those were my dad’s colours...It’s kind of a tradition to wear your dad’s colours and it was an easy decision for me.” The family aspect is an important one to Le Drew by keeping the colours the same that his dad and his two brothers had worn.
Le Drew will be back in action on Saturday (July 3) and will be ready for The Lady Crocus Stakes. He will be driving the three-year-old filly named Filly for trainer Trevor Williams, and the connections will have to overcome post position eight.
The first stake race of the Miami Fair season, the Lady Crocus will take place at roughly 5:20 p.m. EDT and is open to three-year-old Manitoba bred fillies. The eight-horse field will fight for their share of the $12,670 purse and get an early chance to prove why they should be considered the province’s top three-year-old filly. Here's an overview of the field:
Baby Badger, PP1. Baby Badger will get the inside post and will look to bounce back from last weekend’s performance where she finished a distanced fourth in her lifetime debut after suffering interference early in the mile Sired by Andreoli Hanover, Baby Badger’s dam is Honeybadger. Honeybadger made 77 lifetime starts , won three and earned a modest $20,679 in a career that concluded on the Manitoba circuit. Baby Badger is a homebred owned by Kevin Hildebrandt and Aurel Vodon. Hildebrandt is also the trainer and will be in the bike on Saturday.
Send Me A Tweet, PP2. Send Me A Tweet also is looking for a bounce back after last weekend’s fourth-place finish in 2:06.1. This filly is owned by Wanda Howlett and Dwayne Taylor with Marc Fillion as trainer. Another daughter of Andreoli Hanover bred by Hildebrandt & Vodon, Send Me A Tweet`s dam is Red Bird Of Buxton, who made 74 lifetime starts and made it to the winner`s circle 13 times. The mare won $95,653 lifetime and finished her racing career in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Don Howlett will take hold of the reins on Saturday.
Moonshine N Melody, PP3. Only two in this field saw any race action in 2020 and one of them is Moonshine N Melody. This filly made four starts in 2020 and made $2,230 in winnings. She never got a win, but she picked up two second and her fastest mile time was 2:05.3. Saturday’s start will be Moonshine N Melody’s first start in 2021. The filly was bred by Darryl and Sherri Mason and is currently owned by Cory Manning. Moonshine N Melody is a uniquely-bred daughter of Armbro Baylor from the trotting-bred mare Tequila Lullaby (Balanced Image - Perfect Ironstone - Nearly Perfect). Cory Manning trains the filly and will be in the driver seat on Saturday.
Love To Live, PP4. Love To Live will leave from post four in her second race of 2021. Last time out she finished third, timed in 2:04, but could have been second if it wasn’t for an untimely break just before the wire. Currently owned by breeder and trainer Arthur Rey, this daughter of of Bolero Charles- Inquire will have Dean Rey driving.
State Your Case, PP5. Beside Love To Live is State Your Case, starting from post five.Owned and bred by Tara and Garett Isman, State Your Case is a daughter of State Treasurer from the Camluck mare Tilly Seelster. Campaigned predominantly in Ontario, Tilly Seelster had a four-year racing career and made $81,335 in 64 starts. State Your Case finished third in her only start this year, individually timed in 2:05.4 with George Isman in the bike. In the Lady Crocus, Tyler Grundy will be in the bike for this Tara Isman-trained filly.
Millies Millions, PP6. Millies Millions looks to continue the success she had in her two-year-old campaign by coming up with the win from the far outside position. Millies Million was the 2020 two-year-old of the year in Manitoba and has had a good start to 2021 to make the case she could deserve the three-year-old title this season. This will be the filly’s second start of the year , coming in off f a win last weekend in 2:04.1 and she is by far the most successful horse in this field. Millies Million has had six lifetime starts and boasts four wins, one second and one third. It would be hard to keep this filly off your betting ticket this weekend as she could easily be the betting favourite. Millies Million (Armbro Baylor - Untold Millions) is currently owned and trained by Richard Rey and Michel Rey will continue to drive this filly.
Havinfuninthesun, PP7. The second Tara & Garrett Isman-bred and owned filly, Havinfuninthesun will get the inside post as a trailer. The filly made herfirst lifetime start last weekend and unfortunately finished a distanced sixth after interference late in the mile. Havinfuninthesun is sired by Sunshine Beach and the dam is Emmasphere, who made over 100 starts and banked more than $100,000 in earnings while getting to the winner’s circle 30 times. George Isman is tasked with driver duties for Havinfuninthesun on Saturday.
Filly, PP8. No, this is not a typo, the name of the eight horse is Filly. The 6-5 morning line favourite is bred, trained, and owned by Trevor Williams. A winner in her debut last week, Filly is by Blue Burner from the 17-time winner Miss Million Bud. Williams had nine trainer starts last week and got his horses into the winner’s circle six times. Glenn Le Drew continues his comeback tour and looks to add the 2021 Lady Crocus to his resume.
To view the entries for Saturday's card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Miami Fair
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Trey Colbeck)