Moore comments on his Metro starters

Thirty 2-year-old pacing colts will be chasing the million-dollar Metro  beginning Saturday night, and getting into  the final is going to be no walk in the park.

 

Dr. Ian Moore, whose outstanding 2  year olds Malicious and Wellthereyougo have drawn into the first and second  eliminations for the Metro Pace on Saturday at Mohawk,  says it best: “Playtime is over for these colts. It’s time to step up their game.” He also said that Shadow Play, who is entered in the Canadian Pacing Derby, is presently plagued with a right front heel problem.

 

Moore’s Wellthereyougo, a son of Camluck who was a $45,000 yearling purchase, has drawn into a particularly tough division: he’ll be up against Casie Coleman’s unbeaten Sportswriter, a winner of a Nassagaweya  division last week in a blistering 1:50.4, as well as the George Teague-trained Delmarvalous, who was second by a head in that race and who had previously been flawless in three career starts.

 

“We might see a bit of a speed duel in that split,” Moore allows. “In a way I wish he could have had some more time off going into this, but when there’s an Ontario Sires Stakes Gold final 20 minutes down the road from you (at Flamboro Downs on Aug. 16), it’s hard to say no.”

 

The colt, who is now a veteran of seven starts, with five wins and a second, won that $130,000 Gold event by a handy three-quarters of a length, but Moore hopes that the transition from a half-mile oval to Mohawk’s more expansive 7/8 mile  will fall under the “a change is as good as a rest” category for Wellthereyougo.

 

Malicious, who Moore ssid is the more charismatic of the two youngsters, has avoided some of the big guns on Saturday by drawing into the second of the three eliminations. The Bettors Delight colt, who has yet to taste defeat in six career starts, has also had the good fortune to draw post position #1—which Moore says is a welcome change.

 

“I’ve gotten so I don’t even want to look (at the draw) – we’ve gotten the nine or 10 hole so many times I can’t count them, especially with (2008 Little Brown Jug champion) Shadow Play. But it looks like we’ve drawn pretty good for once.”

 

As for Shadow Play, he has drawn post three in the single elimination for the $700,000 Canadian Pacing Derby, also on Saturday night, but his participation will depend on his soundness. Plagued by foot problems all season, Shadow Play is currently operating with only one of his two right front heel bulbs.

 

"I’ll jog him on Thursday morning and we’ll see. I was hoping he might not have to go in the elimination

because he really could use one more week. But he is as tough as nails, so if he feels good we’ll go.”