CLINTON, Ont., July 5, 2024 – The Ontario Sires Stakes 50th Anniversary celebration will continue its cross-province tour Sunday as it heads to Clinton Raceway with a couple of $20,000 Grassroots Series divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies featured on Kin Pace Final afternoon.
The two Grassroots Series events will go in Races 4 and 8, while the $50,000 Kin Pace Final will cap off the 10-race card Sunday.
Race 4 is highlighted by local trotter All Out Marilyn (Mister Bianco), whose trainer, Pam Forgie, and owner, David Wilkinson (Forgie’s father), both hail from Goderich, Ont., just a short 20-minute drive away from Clinton Raceway.
“My dad is how I got into racehorses,” said Forgie. “So, I grew up with racehorses because my dad owned horses, and he had a small farm in Goderich, so we would ship into Clinton or Goderich to train – usually Goderich because it was closer. So, I grew up in Goderich watching the races more than Clinton, but we’d come to both. They’re only 20 minutes away.”
Coming in as a 10-1 morning-odds longshot, All Out Marilyn isn’t expected to place high, but could surprise.
“She has the ability to [win], but we’ve just been dealing with some health issues with her and we’re hoping that that’s cleared up,” said Forgie of All Out Marilyn. “I was just having trouble with getting her blood right. She was just having some problems with her liver, but now I think we’ve gotten that straightened out a bit. And she was getting a bit hot behind the gate so we did some equipment changes there over her last couple of starts, so she’s been much better with that.”
All Out Marilyn was bred by Peter Albrecht (Atwood, Ont.) and will be driven by Anthony Haughan. She was an OSS Grassroots Series winner last year as a two-year-old on July 17, beating out other horses she’ll see Sunday, including Rhythm Of Life (Muscle Mass) and Abikadabra (Kadabra).
Race 4 will also feature 8-5 morning odds favourite Birthday Money (Resolve), who currently ranks tied for second in the Grassroots standings for three-year-old trotting fillies, and 5-1 morning odds value play Mass Money (Muscle Mass), whose driver, Travis Henry, will also be driving Go Have Fun (Kadabra) in Race 8.
Go Have Fun is owned by Etsell Newton (Rockwood, Ont.), Graham Hopkins (Chesley, Ont.), Peter Porter (Port Dover, Ont.) and Lindsey Turner (Georgetown, Ont.), was bred by Christopher Coyle (Wingate, N.C.) and is trained by Mark Etsell.
Sunday will mark the first time Henry will drive Go Have Fun, who has performed well so far this year, racking up a first, a second and three third-place finishes over seven starts this year, including a pair of thirds in Grassroots Series races.
Despite not being familiar with Go Have Fun, Henry isn’t too worried, knowing he’ll get the information he needs.
“Mark [Etsell] usually has driven [the horses he trains] and sat behind them enough that he usually tells me what they’re like,” said Henry.
Mass Cara (Muscle Mass) headlines Race 8 as the 8-5 morning odds favourite. Like Birthday Money, Mass Cara is tied for second in the Grassroots standings for three-year-old trotting fillies with 75 points.
Race 10’s Kin Pace Final for Ontario Sired three-year-old pacing fillies features an eight-horse field with Henry driving Halva Hanover (Bettors Delight) and Haughan in the bike seat for Pasta Delight (Bettors Delight).
The Kin Pace pays homage to the early days of Clinton Raceway when the Kinsmen and Kinette Club introduced pari-mutuel wagering to the grassroots track in 1970.
As part of the 50th Anniversary celebration, fans coming down to enjoy the races will also be able to win prizes via giveaways, there will be activity books for the young ones and all ages can take in a timeline illustrating the 50-year history of the OSS.
In advance of Monday’s celebration, noted Canadian harness racing writer and historian Robert Smith wrote a brief history of Clinton Raceway that you can read here.
“The memories [of the OSS] I would say would be that I’ve won a few [OSS races], but it’s going back to when I was watching my uncles and my grandfather win them,” said Henry. “I remember running to the winner’s circle when there was the Trillium Series and all of that, so it’s been a big part of my summer because I used to travel around with them in the summer.”
Post time for the first race Sunday at Clinton goes at 1:30 p.m. Click here to get a copy of the program with information on entries and wagering advice. If you’re unable to attend in person, please visit the Clinton Raceway website for streaming information. You will be able to make a wager via HPIBet.
FEATURED IMAGE: Horses coming off the gate in Race 6 on June 23, 2024 at Clinton Raceway (Jessica Carnochan)
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