by Frank Salive, for Western Fair Raceway

London, ON — If trainer Rob Fellows has his way he’ll be wasting no time in following up his best career year with a fast start to 2008. In particular, he’s looking forward to sending out the favorite, Blissful Maddie, in Western Fair’s Monday evening (Jan. 7) Mares Preferred Pace for a C$15,200 purse in the fifth race.

“She’s just coming into her 5-year-old season and we’re hoping the best is yet to come for her,” Fellows says. “Brenton Harris, Jim Otter and Larry Cometto bought her from Steve Byron and his people near the time of the Harrisburg sale last November. She’s not ready to step up against the top mares in Toronto yet but that class in London is a great stepping stone.”

In 2007 the Fellows outfit enjoyed an outstanding season. From 777 starters, 119 returned as winners in addition to 95 runner-up finishes and 105 thirds for just under C$2 million in purse earnings. Based on the Toronto circuit, Fellows finished third in the Woodbine-Mohawk trainer standings last year to Casie Coleman and Kevin McMaster.

“Monday night in London we’re blessed with great draw luck to land in post one and (driver) Don McElroy got her a perfect trip to win there back on December 10. There are some really nice mares with a lot of half-mile track experience that we have a lot of respect for, like Stonebridge Celest (post two) and that one of Jim Ainsworth’s (Lady Mach, post seven) has been really on top of her game lately too.”

Like many Canadians, Fellows is looking forward to a break from winter. He explains his vacation begins on Tuesday morning.

“It’s kind of an annual ritual that my son and I have to follow the Toronto Maple Leafs for some road games every year,” Fellows says from his farm near Rockwood, ON. “This week we’re going to California and we’ll be at the Leafs games at Anaheim on Wednesday, in Los Angeles on Thursday, and next Saturday at San Jose. Winter racing is a hard test on both horses and people and we all need and deserve a break from it.”

Watch this ‘Timeout’

In Monday evening’s seventh race Preferred Trot for a purse of C$18,400, a new starter for Seelster Farms turns up in 4-year-old mare Tymal Timeout. She last raced in London in a division of the Trillium Series on November 3 under the ownership of Henry Stable of Arthur, ON and Dan McCann of Parkhill, ON just before the private purchase by the famed nursery just north of London near Lucan was finalized.

The lifetime winner of C$354,000 made two starts in December at Woodbine in races restricted to Ontario sired 3-year-old fillies before turning up in Western Fair’s top trotting class on Monday evening under the care of trainer Ray Bunn.

The last time Seelster Farms made a private purchase of a broodmare prospect who subsequently competed in London’s Preferred Trot was just over 13 months ago when Must Sold Dream set the track record for older mares in 1:57.2.

The 5-2 morning line favorite for the Preferred Trot on Monday evening in London is another mare, C$623,000 lifetime winner Porsche Hall. She’s campaigned by Terry Kerr for Michigan’s BetMax Stables and Benenati Incorporated. Porsche Hall’s younger brother, Yankee Banker (Yankee Paco-Bankers Jackpot) won both of his December starts impressively at Western Fair at the end of his 2-year-old season and certainly marked himself as one to watch for 2008.

Post time at Western Fair each Monday and Friday is 7:35 p.m. and each Tuesday at 4:05 p.m.