He has beaten the best Quebec has to offer, so on Saturday the undefeated Val Taurus will be taking his show on the road to Mohawk Racetrack and the eliminations for the $1 million Canadian Trotting Classic. The 3-year-old son of Taurus Dream, out of the Valley Victory mare Valbonne, has a spotless 14-for-14 record, and has bankrolled $264,032(C) for owner Lorraine Auger of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Quebec, racing exclusively at the Hippodrome de Montreal. Trainer Normand Bardier Jr. has retained Trevor Ritchie to do the driving honors for the $40,000 elimination, in which Val Taurus has drawn the outside post seven. "It looks like he’s been on the front end a lot in the past, but Normand says Val Taurus should have no trouble following other horses," Ritchie said. "He’s supposed to be pretty versatile, so I don’t think (the outside post) is an issue. "His chart lines sure are impressive, so based on that I think he has a good shot at it. The number one priority this weekend is to advance to the final," he added. Val Taurus, who was Quebec’s Horse of the Year in 2006, will be facing some heady competition in his first foray away from his home track. In his division, he will be up against $1.2 million earner Pampered Princess, who despite something of a disastrous trip in the Hambletonian clearly isn’t done locking horns with the colts. The Andover Hall filly, owned by Bob Anderson of St. Thomas and his son David of Aurora, Ont., will be leaving from post five, with John Campbell in the bike. And there’s also Paula Wellwood trainee, Laddie, a solid third in the Hambletonian and currently the 7-2 second choice on the morning line, leaving from post four. Should Val Taurus trot true to form in his elim, he’ll face even more daunting company in the final: Hambletonian winner Donato Hanover, who is also riding a 14-race win streak. He’ll be generating a lot of excitement by making his Mohawk debut, with Ron Pierce at the lines, in the first of the two $40,000 eliminations Saturday night. (WEG)
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