by Karen Briggs, WEG Media

Campbellville, ON — Despite going down in defeat last week, a colt named Beer League is the even-money favorite going into Thursday night’s (August 13) C$20,000 second leg of the Bridger Trotting Series, for freshman colts and geldings.

The son of Broadway Hall has four lifetime starts under his belt, if you count his two initial qualifying efforts on the Mohawk oval, and he has emerged triumphant from all but last week’s effort in the Bridger Series opening round, when he was caught by a head at the wire by Tony O’Sullivan trainee, The First Time.

With The First Time not returning for round two, Beer League, who is trained by Mike Keeling, might be primed to slide smoothly to victory in his division, the first of two C$20,000 Bridger splits (race one, post time 7:30 p.m.).

The second Bridger split (race four, post time 8:27 p.m.) is a bit more of a guessing game, with the undefeated Stormont Garcon being one possible standout. The son of Quebec sire Stormont Bronze will be making his first start at Mohawk, but he has absolutely dominated the ranks of the 2-year-old trotters at Rideau Carleton this spring, racking up seven victories in a row since the end of June. Eric Baker bred and owns Stormont Garcon, and John MacMillan trains; Rick Zeron will be at the controls for the colt’s first trip in Campbellville.

The 21 colts entered on Thursday will be vying for spots in the C$50,000 (est.) final of the Bridger Trotting Series, which goes postward at Mohawk on Thursday, August 20.