Flamboro Downs will opens its 2020 Ontario Sires Stakes season this Thursday (Sept. 17) with three Grassroots divisions for two-year-old trotting fillies.
Trainer John Bax will start a pair of fillies in the Grassroots regular season finale: Doing It All from Post 5 in the second split and Lifeintheslammer from Post 7 in the third.
Doing It All heads into her Flamboro assignment off a Grassroots win at Hanover Raceway on August 29 and Bax is hoping the filly can continue her forward momentum.
“She’s getting a little more 'racy' every start, and she’s handy on a half-mile, so we’re hoping she keeps improving. We’re kind of looking for next year, but we’d like to end this year on an upbeat note. We’re progressing in the right direction,” said the Campbellville, Ont. resident, who trains Doing It All for Menhammar Stuteri AB of Paris, KY.
The Kadabra filly’s results have improved with every Grassroots outing. She finished seventh in the season opener, and followed that up with a fifth, a fourth and then the August 29 win. With a total of 65 points, Doing It All currently sits tied for fifth in the division point standings and will advance to the October 1 Grassroots Semi-Finals at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
Lifeintheslammer started her Ontario Sires Stakes career with two starts at the Gold Series level before joining Doing It All in the third Grassroots leg. The daughter of Royalty For Life was victorious in the August 17 round at Woodbine Mohawk Park, but then made a break and finished sixth in the fourth leg at Hanover Raceway.
“With her there’s something every time. Fortunately she went that one good race and showed us that the potential is there,” said Bax. “She’s got a mind of her own, but talent, definitely -- definitely talent enough to be a player. And next year I’m hoping that she’s a little easier to live with and grows up mentally, and a little bit physically.”
With 53 points, Lifeintheslammer is tied for eleventh in the standings, so owners Bax Stable of Campbellville, Glengate Farms of Erin, Brad Grant of Milton and Gaelic Stable of Sharon, Ont. are hoping she can pad that total on Thursday.
Among the fillies hoping to prevent Lifeintheslammer from adding another win to her resume is division point leader Tipsy In Dixie, who will be looking for her third straight Grassroots victory from Post 6 in the third $22,450 division.
“She’s just fun, it’s great,” said Katherine Hedley of Canfield, Ont., who owns one per cent of Tipsy In Dixie through fractional ownership group TheStable.ca. “We have watched all of her races that have been open. We’ve been to Grand River twice to watch her and two weeks ago when she was in Hanover.”
With spectators unable to attend the races in person on Thursday, Hedley and her fellow owners will be tuning in to watch the Flamboro Downs live stream and hoping Tipsy In Dixie (by Muscle Mass) can extend her Grassroots win streak.
In addition to the Grassroots divisions, which are scheduled to head postward for Race 1, 5 and 6, Flamboro Downs will also be hosting two $7,000 Prospect Series divisions for the three-year-old trotting fillies, which are programmed as Race 8 and 10.
All of the action will get underway at 6:35 p.m. Fans can download a program and watch the live stream on the Flamboro Downs website.
To view the harness racing entries for Thursday at Flamboro, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Flamboro Downs.
(OSS)