After EPM, horse in series action at Woodbine

On July 26, 2010, Bruce Gilkinson was at home on his computer surfing the Internet, not quite realizing what he had just done. He had just purchased a horse online, sight unseen, for $21,000. Now, a few years later, he has reaped the rewards of that unique investment, as Just Assign to Me has banked $199,600 for Gilkinson, along with his brother, Murray, who operate Cat Sass Stable.

 

“I didn’t even know what the horse looked like,” Gilkinson admitted. “There was just a pedigree page. No photos or videos of the horse.”

 

Just Asign To Me was part of a liquidation of horses bred by Perfect World Enterprises that were auctioned on the popular horse racing website Ongait.com.

 

“In the final hours, it was between me and one other person and in the end I was the high bidder,” Gilkinson said. “The other thing that I used to my advantage was a qualifying line just one day before the auction ended. He qualified in 1:58.3 at Pocono Downs which I thought was a terrific qualifier for a first time two-year-old.”

 

Gilkinson’s foresight was righ on the mark as the son of Geartogear-Justasign Hanover dominated the Ontario Sires Stakes program winning nine of 11 starts as a rookie including the $100,000 OSS Grassroots final. He capped off his freshman campaign with over $140,000 in earnings.

 

Everything seemed to be on schedule during Just Asign To Me’s 3-year-old campaign. The 12-time winner had just finished fourth in the $100,000 Somebeachsomewhere Stakes against the best sophomore pacers in North America. Then, just a few days after the race, Gilkinson received bad news.

 

“We found out that he was diagnosed with EPM (equine protozoal myeloencephalitis). Because of that, we had to do what was in the best interest in the horse to get him back to form. We lost most of the summer because of that and to be honest, he’s just started to get back to his old self now.”

 

In Gilkinson's eyes, the misfortunes Just Asign To Me has had to contend with don't impact his affection and adoration for the pacer in the least.

 

“He owes us nothing,” Gilkinson said. “We took a big gamble purchasing him and we don’t overlook that. We are just enjoying the ride and it sure has been a fun one.”

 

Just Asign To Me will make his fourth start as a 4-year-old for driver Scott Coulter when he begins in the first leg of the $20,000 WEGZ Pacing Series at Woodbine on Saturday evening. The series is for four-year-old and older non-winners of $50,000 (three-year-olds $75,000) in 2011 (minimum 10 starts). (WEG)