by Karen Briggs, WEG media

Campbellville, ON — He won the hearts of the bettors as a 3-year-old, this pony-sized pacer with a drive and desire so much bigger than he was.

But now, at 4, James ‘Friday’ Dean trainee Doonbeg is up against some of the toughest — and let’s face it, biggest — competition of his life: multi-millionaires like Lis Mara, Total Truth, and Boulder Creek.

It’s a tall order for the little son of Camluck, who’ll go postward in the first of two eliminations for the C$750,000 Canadian Pacing Derby for horses and geldings aged 3 and up, this Saturday night (August 11) at Mohawk Racetrack.

It’s a rough transition for any horse into the ‘open’ ranks, acknowledges Dean, “but with Doonbeg maybe a little bit more because he’s so small. He filled out a bit over the winter, through his chest, but he didn’t grow at all. He’s 14 hands, maybe 14:2.

“But I’ll tell you, when that little horse gets on someone’s back he can go with the best. It’s just sometimes whether he can get past them! He’s never raced against Lis Mara or Boulder Creek, but he has raced Mister Big a half-dozen times and he’s beaten him.

“We thought we’d try him (in this company). He had a touch of virus earlier in the year and didn’t race the way he should, but he’s good right now. I talked with the owners (Clay and Scott Horner and Stew Firlotte) and we figured he’s healthy and it’s at home, so we’ll take our shot.”

With only 14 horses entered in the two divisions, getting past the eliminations should not be difficult for Doonbeg, who has earned $717,075 over his 33-start career and holds a lifetime mark of 1:49.3. he real test will come in the final on Saturday, August 18.

But win or lose, the Little Horse That Could has been nothing but a pleasant surprise for his interests.

“He’s surpassed all of our expectations,” says Dean. “He’s done so much more than we ever thought when we were breaking him. And he’s a real pleasure to be around. He just tries his heart out for us. So we take it week to week with him; we’ll see how he does here and then maybe we’ll think about the Breeders Crown.”

Catch the eliminations for the Canadian Pacing Derby this Saturday night at Mohawk. Post time is 7:20 p.m., and the two eliminations are scheduled for 9:04 p.m. and 10:07 p.m.

WEG cuts off Premier Turf Club

Woodbine Entertainment Group announced today that it has cut off Premier Turf Club for breach of their simulcast contract, effective immediately.

WEG cautiously allowed Premier Turf Club to participate in its pools recently after agreeing on specific terms and an appropriate host fee. These terms clearly indicated that Premier Turf Club was not permitted to take account wagers from Canadian residents but WEG has indisputable evidence that they signed up a resident from WEG’s home market area and permitted the account holder to wager on Woodbine.

“We are very disheartened by the issue,” said Sean Pinsonneault, WEG’s Vice President of Wagering Services. “We acted in good faith with Premier Turf Club and they demonstrated just the opposite. It’s a shame that it had to come to this but we are not prepared to do business with rogue operators under any conditions. Operators such as this threaten the integrity and viability of our industry’s pari-mutuel system.”

WEG and HPI TV to carry Gold Cup and Saucer

This year’s Gold Cup and Saucer race from the Charlottetown Driving Entertainment Centre will be carried as part of Mohawk Racetrack’s Saturday, August 18, program which also features the Canadian Pacing Derby.

The race will also be shown across Canada on HPI TV.

Having the race as part of the Mohawk program means the race will be shown across WEG’s entire distribution network. Post time is scheduled for 11:45 p.m. at the CDPEC.

The trials for this year’s Gold Cup and Saucer go postward this weekend in Charlottetown. Among the starters will be defending champion Bannner Yankee, who is coming off a victory in the Robert McCain Memorial at Woodstock, and last year’s runner-up, Silent Swing.

The Gold Cup and Saucer carries a purse of C$60,000 and is one of the most sought after races in the country.