When it comes to winning major races, driver Jody Jamieson has captured more than most. His resume lists a Little Brown Jug, two World Driving Championships, three O'Brien Awards, and a handful of Breeders Crowns along with many other stakes scores. What's missing? A Dream Of Glory title, and he's hopeful that he and his wife Stephanie can team up to add that stakes event to his long list of victories this Saturday (August 1) at Hanover Raceway.
Jamieson's Hot Wheelz has been off to a ‘hot’ start in his sophomore season. With two second-place finishes in Ontario Sires Stakes events coming into the Dream Of Glory, the Wheeling N Dealin - Affair Hall gelding secured himself a ticket to Saturday's Dream Of Glory final with a very impressive elimination win in 1:57.
Jamieson, who owns the promising three-year-old, is not at all surprised with how well his campaigner has been competing.
“He trained back great all year, he really has done nothing wrong yet this year. Really and truly he has been perfect and hasn’t had one issue,” noted Jamieson.
As a matter of fact, Hot Wheelz has impressed his owner from the day he came home from the London Selected Yearling Sale in 2018.
“Steph picked him out in the catalogue so when we went to look at him we really liked him,” Jamieson told Trot Insider. “He has a nice long barrel to him and a nice sharp head, he wasn’t overly big but he’s grown into a nice-looking horse now. He has some pretty good pedigree in him a few dams back. When I got in on him the bid was at $9,000 and I purchased him for $15,000 which I thought was a pretty good price for him.”
While Hot Wheelz's dam Affair Hall and grand-dam Absinthe Hall never raced, the gelding's third dam is the immortal Amour Angus -- the mare who changed the entire trotting breed as the dam of Conway Hall, Angus Hall, Andover Hall and Emilie Cas El. And although those accomplished family members boasted strong early accomplishments, Hot Wheelz took a little more time to come around and made just two pari-mutuel starts as a rookie.
“We really liked how he trained as a two-year-old and he qualified really good but he battled with split issues the whole season and just wasn’t going to be a two-year-old,” added Jamieson. “I didn’t exactly know what we had but we liked him and figured he was worth giving the time that he needed.”
Hot Wheelz will leave from Post 3 in the Dream Of Glory Final, drawing much better than his main rivals. Fellow elim winners Lexus Markus (Trevor Henry, 8-1) and Field Gunner (Bob McClure, 4-1) drew posts five and eight, respectively, while the runner-up to Hot Wheelz, Remember Titans (Doug McNair, 3-1) leaves from the six hole. Jamieson is confident in his colt's chances and is eager to add a Dream Of Glory trophy to his already-crowded mantle.
“He was awesome in his elimination, he was coming back from racing just four days ago to which he trotted the fastest mile of his life. I was a little nervous about racing him back so soon but with the money that’s being put up for grabs it was too hard to not go,” said Jamieson. “He may have went a little faster Saturday. He’s had a good week so far so we’ll hope from the best from here on out.
“We’re there because they go for $75,000 and it’s not everyday you get to race for that kind of money at Hanover Raceway. If we could get the job done it would be a huge relief as the COVID-19 shutdown took a toll on us the same way it did everyone else in the industry. This horse has been great all season and has really helped get us back into the black and it would mean a lot to us to be able to win this race.”
The field for the $75,400 Dream Of Glory is as follows:
1. Angel Nation (Sylvain Filion, 12-1)
2. Lifeisgood Hanover (Mike Saftic, 10-1)
3. Hot Wheelz (Jody Jamieson, 2-1)
4. True Brew (James MacDonald, 6-1)
5. Lexus Markus (Trevor Henry, 8-1)
6. Remember Titans (Doug McNair, 3-1)
7. Kenogami Coco (Chris Christoforou, 12-1)
8. Field Gunner (Bob McClure, 4-1)
The 2020 Dream of Glory card will showcase the Dream Of Glory Trot Final and the $10,000 Gail Murray Invitational Pace. The Survivor Challenge, sponsored by COSA, will offer a $500 HPI deposit for the winner, up from the regular $100 reward.
To view the entries for Hanover's Saturday card, click the following link: Saturday Entries - Hanover Raceway.