by Chris Lomon, WEG Communications
Toronto, ON — The best Christmas gift, at least an early one, that owner/trainer Brent MacGrath could have asked for, came true when his Weigh The Odds received a favorable post position in one of two C$25,000 Valedictory Stakes eliminations set for Saturday evening (Dec. 17) at Woodbine.
New Image Media photo
Weigh The Odds has three career wins and $33,521 in earnings.
MacGrath, the man who campaigned the incomparable Somebeachsomewhere to superstardom, is hoping Weigh The Odds, a 3-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight, can rebound from an off-key performance in his last race, an eighth-place effort on Dec. 12 at Woodbine.
Getting post five for his Valedictory elim certainly increased his chances at getting back into winning form.
“Well, I think I’ve been a good boy, so a nice post was just what I was hoping for,” said MacGrath, in reference to what his three-time winner from nine starts would benefit most from. “He’s the type of horse who likes to be in the mix early. We wanted him to be prominent early in his last start and it didn’t pan out. It was a brisk opening quarter (:25.4), a horse broke stride in front of him…it just didn’t go his way.”
Things, however, have gone Weigh the Odds’ way in the past, despite the odd bump in the road.
The bay colt was MacGrath’s first purchase since he bought Somebeachsomewhere, the former a $65,000 purchase at the Lexington Selected Sale in October 2009.
After a series of qualifiers, five to be specific, in MacGrath’s home province of Nova Scotia, Weigh The Odds headed to Ontario, where he qualified at Mohawk in preparation for his first career start on August 1 at the Campbelville oval.
Tenth by 13 lengths behind at one point, Weigh The Odds rallied to finish fifth, 6-3/4 lengths behind at the wire.
One week later, as the post time favorite, he broke his maiden in 1:52.4.
A study of his racelines shows a horse that can bounce back with a big effort after a tough outing.
“He’s a nice horse, but one that likes to be in the action from the start,” said MacGrath, who has handed over the training reins to Joey Shea while Weigh The Odds is on the WEG circuit. “He recently had throat surgery and we’re hoping that helps him out. He’s definitely capable. Getting him active early in the race is the key.”
Which is precisely the game plan come Saturday evening at Woodbine.
“Ideally, we’d have him in the top four once the wings close,” offered MacGrath, who’ll have regular driver and good friend Paul MacDonell in the bike again. “He’s a good, big, strong horse and he can definitely put in a strong showing. He’s had some health issues in the past, but he seems to be over that. We’d love to see him come up big this weekend.”
Which could present MacGrath and his fellow Schooner Stable owners with the ideal on-track Christmas gift.
The Valedictory final goes on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) with a special post time of 1:20 p.m.