by Greg Gangle, WEG media

Campbellville, ON — When Shelby’s Cobra lines up behind the starting gate this Saturday (July 2) in the second leg of the C$20,000 Beat The Heat Pacing Series at Mohawk, trainer Ken Sucee is hopeful his hard-luck pacer’s recent history is a sign of things to come after an unsuccessful 2010 campaign.

Last season, the son of Western Ideal-Sounds Perfect was diagnosed with EPM, which had to be treated and given the time off to recover.

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Shelby’s Cobra has hit the board in seven of his 21 career starts.

“Last year, he had a bad case of EPM,” Sucee commented. “I had to treat him and give him the entire winter off. He had a few other issues as well, nothing life threatening or sound issues, but he needed the time to get back to his full stride.”

Now, after scoring an impressive 1:51.3 score in last week’s opening leg, Sucee believes his pupil is on the right track.

“I wasn’t surprised by his effort last week because he raced tremendous the week before at Kawartha Downs. He finished fourth, but paced a back half in :54 and change.”

With only 21 starts lifetime, Sucee believes that with limited starts, it can only make his pacer better in the long run.

“I don’t mind him having limited starts so far in his campaign. He had 15 starts last year and was lightly (trained) as a 2-year-old. He’s fresh and I think his best days are ahead of him.”

When Shelby’s Cobra starts from post four on Saturday night for driver Paul MacDonell, Sucee will be hoping for another strong performance.

With a lifetime best of 1:51.2, Shelby’s Cobra has banked $45,003 in his career for owner Shelby Novick.