by Frank Salive, for Western Fair Raceway

London, ON — Approaching Friday evening’s 35th Molson Pace program at Western Fair Raceway, there are many reasons to believe it will be one of the most historic occasions for the London track, dating to the start of its extended pari-mutuel meets in 1961.

“Since the Molson Pace became a C$200,000 added event in 2004 there have been times when the evening’s total purses were over C$400,000 but never anything like this,” says the Western Fair Association’s Chief Operating Officer, Hugh Mitchell. “Friday night’s total purse payout is C$566,800 and we’re proud to say it’s a new benchmark for our track. I’ve never seen a program here quite like it stacked with such quality from top to bottom for all 12 races.

“There’s been a real buzz around London about it this week. Like everyone I’m anxious for post time to arrive on Friday night.”

Track record talk

Though it’s a very inexact science in the domain of predictions, the top to bottom caliber of the precedent-setting program in London on Friday night has raised talk of three track record possibilities.

The May 25 card for Molson Pace and OSS eliminations produced two.

The C$30,000 Invitational Handicap Trot in the second race sees $1.19 million lifetime winner Abbey Road C assigned the outside post seven by Race Secretary and Raceway Manager Ian Fleming. It stands to be the greatest group of older trotters on the track in London in 2007 and perhaps in history. Runway is in the field and recently set the track record at 1:56.4.

Another opportunity for a track record on the Friday night program appears to be in the seventh race, the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final for 3-year-old filly pacers. Michelle’s Power lowered the track standard in this category to 1:54 in her elimination last week. This week she starts from post five, while all of her main rivals start in positions inside of her on the gate.

The 35th Molson Pace could well be a record-setting classic too.

“It’s certainly the deepest group we’ve had here in the 13 years that I’ve done the draws for this race,” Fleming states.

Maltese Artist tied the track record in 1:53 last week and appeared to be wrapped up doing so, but like Michelle’s Power, Maltese Artist will have his top rivals starting in positions to his inside on the gate including elimination winners Zooka and Western Ace.

Homecoming for Wallis

Driver Kevin Wallis, a long-ime standout at Windsor Raceway, Hazel Park, and Pompano Park, offers the ‘homecoming’ angle to the 2007 Molson Pace.

Wallis was raised in Granton, less than 20 minutes north of Western Fair Raceway. His earliest career experiences were in London prior to his move over two decades ago to Windsor-Detroit and later for winters in Florida.

Wallis pilots Special Report from the outside post seven in this year’s Molson Pace. For his starts in Canada, Michigan-based trainer Amanda Bublitz has taken over training duties from Kim Asher.

Special Report was the runner-up to Maltese Artist in the $475,000 Levy Series final at Yonkers prior to shipping to Ontario.

Appropriate Gale

On the Molson Pace elimination program at Western Fair last Friday, it seemed only fitting that the first race of the night was won by horseman Bill Gale as trainer of 3-year-old pacing filly Tanny Mite, driven by his son, Jason, and co-owned by his wife, Janice.

Bill was the winning driver of 1989 Molson Pace champion Bond Street among the more than 6,400 lifetime winning drives he has amassed. Throughout his career, Gale, now 58, has credited the late horseman Morris MacDonald of nearby Strathroy for his success and the horsemanship he learned as a groom during a four-year tenure in MacDonald’s operation at the start of his career.

Two headpole solution?

Trainer Mickey Burke says a major turning point for Molson Pace favorite Maltese Artist began to take shape last winter in Florida during a training session.

“My son and I decided to equip him with two headpoles and now that he’s going straight he’s really been able to take it to another level in these half-mile track stakes in 2007,” Burke says. “He’s surpassed our expectations by winning in under 1:50 at the Battle of Lake Erie and the way he battled to the end to take the Levy final at Yonkers. He seems to be coming into the Molson Pace final about as good as we could expect him to be.”

Gold Series bargain

After the OSS Gold eliminations for 3-year-old fillies, an interesting fact was disclosed in a live trackside interview with Alan Guthrie, owner of Simply Mavelous, who will be competing in Friday’s night C$130,000 Gold Final.

“She was a really reasonable buy last fall and all credit to Rick Zeron for making a Gold Series filly out of her, the way he’s had her closing so well in her starts this year,” Guthrie said. “She was hip #151 in Standardbred Canada’s Fall Extravaganza Sale last year at the Western Fair Agriplex building and I got her for just C$5,000. After almost 16 years in the business she’s providing me with the biggest thrills I’ve had and is the greatest bargain I could ever hope to find.”

The ‘new’ Astronomical

The plan by owner-trainer Dr. Ian Moore to convert Molson Pace finalist Astronomical to a free-legged pacer this year is looking like a stroke of genius. He was a close second in his elimination and was especially strong off the gate when taking the lead before the field reached the first turn.

“The draw luck has changed a little bit I guess with the trailing eight hole compared to being outside for the elimination and final last year,” Dr. Moore says. “The decision to go free-legged with him was made at our home track just outside Charlottetown, PEI. It’s 6/11ths of a mile with turns tighter than those in London. He trained over it when it was muddy and with no hopples and he went in 1:57. He wears white shin boots and he’s hasn’t touched them all year, and after last week’s elimination they were completely clean too.”

Moore is making the trek on Friday back to Ontario to be with his $557,000 winning graduate of the OSS for the Molson Pace final, and he’ll meet up with him at Bruno Comegna’s farm near Campbellville, ON. He’s landed the driving services of Mike Saftic, and says he’s called upon the Toronto circuit mainstay for more than a decade with Cam Country, Damien Seelster, and McGetty, just to name a few.

“Mike’s assured me he’s going to leave out of there from the trailing post as much as Zooka up in front of us will allow him to,” Moore added. “That’s really interesting, too, that the only two free-legged pacers in the race will leave from posts one and eight together. It should be one heck of a race.”

Hockey, harness racing meet again

Since the elimination of the London Knights from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs their radio broadcasters on CJBK, Pete James and Mike Stubbs, have had more time to come to the races. Western Fair has retained Stubbs to work as trackside interviewer during the Friday night program. In addition to his Knights’ play-by-play duties, Stubbs is the station’s weekday afternoon drive host from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

“I was extremely pleased to help out with the Molson Pace post position draw last Friday night and all the credit goes to Ian Fleming for guiding us through it,” Stubbs says. “The Knights and Western Fair are two big institutions here in London and it’s really great to get this chance to be a part of a history making night for the track. To interview so many of the game’s prominent trainers and drivers will be really great.”

Proud past meets exciting future

The extended broadcast coverage of the richest night in Western Fair’s 46-year history begins at 7:05 p.m., featuring a trackside live interview with retired trainer-driver Jack Kopas and his wife, Alice.

Kopas, 78, won the inaugural edition of the London track’s signature annual event in 1972 and was later inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in Toronto in 1989 and the USA Hall of Fame at Goshen, New York in 1995.