Cantab lands post 11

October 14, 2004

In a bit of irony, Cantab Hall has drawn the trailing post 11 in the $625,000(C) Breeders Crown for 3-year-old colt trotters at Woodbine Racetrack Saturday, Oct. 23. In last weekend's Kentucky Futurity, Cantab drew post six in the first heat but finished fifth to Windsong's Legacy - who overcame post 11.

Cantab Hall will look to join Mack Lobell and Malabar Man as the only Breeders Crown 2-year-old male trotting champions to repeat at age three when he faces 10 challengers. With 11 horses were entered, elimination races will not be required.

Cantab Hall, the 2003 Trotter of the Year, is trained by Ron Gurfein and will be driven by Mike Lachance. The son of Self Possessed has three wins and five seconds in 11 starts this year and more than $800,000 in earnings. After finishing fifth in the first heat of the Kentucky Futurity he was scratched from the second heat.

Also in the field is In Conchnito, who has won seven of 16 races this year, including a victory in an Ontario Sire Stakes Gold final Oct. 9 at Georgian Downs. He is trained by Bob McIntosh and driven by Steve Condren.

Another Crown hopeful is Coventry, driven by D.R. Ackerman and trained by his father, Doug, who has won four of 19 starts and $360,564 in 2004. He is coming off a fourth-place effort in the Kentucky Futurity. His top win came in the William C. Connors Memorial final at Hazel Park on June 5. He was third in the World Trotting Derby, behind world-record-setting Tom Ridge and Cantab Hall, and fourth in the Hambletonian.

Among the others, Al Dente Hanover won an elimination of the Canadian Trotting Classic on Sept. 18 but went offstride in the final, and won a division of the Bluegrass on Oct. 2 at The Red Mile. Rocky Balboa has won just once in 16 starts this year, but has finished no worse than third in his last five races. He was second in the Kentucky Futurity. Cincinnati Kid set a track record Oct. 2 at Georgian Downs in winning a Sire Stakes elim.

Breeders Crown 3-Year-Old Colt Trot

PP Horse (Driver)

1 Rocky Balboa (Ron Pierce)

2 Coventry (D.R. Ackerman)

3 Bertos Dream (Trevor Ritchie)

4 Grand Sovereign (Bill O'Donnell)

5 Photo Color (John Campbell)

6 Al Dente Hanover (Luc Ouellette)

7 Yankee Slide (Brian Sears)

8 In Conchnito (Steve Condren)

9 B Cor Kenny (Dan Daley)

10 Cincinnati Kid (Trevor Ritchie)

11 Cantab Hall (Mike Lachance)

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