by Karen Briggs, WEG Media

Toronto, ON — Friday night’s (March 27) opening round of the Youthful Series at Woodbine will feature 21 precocious pacers, some of whom have already made their mark at the Toronto oval.

In the first of the two C$25,000 splits, Mark Austin trainee, Herestopatrick, will once again face off against Its A Good Thing, who hails from the shedrow of Bob McIntosh. The two most recently clashed in the C$48,200 final of the Apaches Fame Pacing Series, where they finished second and third to Midnite Romp. Now, they’re rated at 3-1 and 2-1, respectively, with Its A Good Thing given a slight edge by virtue of his better post position.

The second of the two Youthful splits is a bit of a toss-up, with the lightly-raced Bring The Heat, newly moved from Linda Toscana’s tutelage, to the shedrow of Paula Wellwood, being one possible colt to watch. The son of Dragon Again recently scored his first career victory at Yonkers Raceway and may find the more expansive oval at Woodbine to his liking.

Then there’s Dervish Hanover, an entry from Ed Hayter who didn’t set foot on a track as a 2-year-old, but now has six starts as a sophomore under his belt, with two wins and a second to his credit. This will be his first start in stakes company, but he has the capable hands of Jody Jamieson to guide him, and a favorable post position which certainly can’t hurt.

Catch the opening round of the Youthful Pacing Series on Friday night at Woodbine. It’s scheduled as races five and eight, with post times of 8:50 p.m. and 9:50 p.m.