Eliminations for Manitoba’s richest event are set

With ten harness racing horses draw in the MSSBA Futurity #32, a pair of eliminations will be needed. Both heats will be held on Saturday (Aug. 3) at The Loop and each will go for $9,431

The field for the first elimination is as follows:

1. Cartoon Kid – Marc Fillion (4-1)           
2. Whos Your Daddy – Glenn Le Drew  (5-1)                       
3. Just A Cool Dude – Blake Piwniuk (6-1)                          
4. Grit N Grace – Dean Rey (2-1)                                   
5. Lookinlikeamillion – Richard Remillard (3-1)  

The filly, Grit N Grace (Im The Pied Piper) is the morning line top choice and likely will go off as the heavy betting favourite. She is coming off an impressive 1:58.4 mile in the Lady Crocus on the half-mile fair track in Miami, Manitoba. Only a 30.1 last quarter was needed because she already had a growing lead at the three-quarter station.  Before that, she finished second in her debut in 2:07.4 at the Loop but showed she does have sub-30-second late speed.

Grit N Grace is owned and trained by Lorraine Rey. She only has only one training win this year but what a win it was. Dean Rey handles the driving, and he too only has one win, but he has amassed five second-place finished in his other eight appearances this year.

The only other sophomore in the field that has a win this year is Lookinlikamillion (Armbro Baylor). The reigning MSRI Manitoba Two-Year-Old Colt won his 2024 debut in 2:04.4 but hadn’t had the same success during his two races in Miami. He had back-to-back fifth-place finishes at the fair track.

Lookinlikeamillaion’s hot rookie season saw him win three of his four starts, including the MSSBA Kindergarten Stakes. He also never finished outside the top three. The gelding is trained by Tara Isman and the Isman family owns him together. Richard Remillard will team up with the pacer once again on Saturday.

The best finish Cartoon Kid (Cartoon Daddy) has this year is second place, but he does have a win on his record from last year. He won in 2:05.4 at the Loop but since then has not been able to find much success. He did go off stride early in his last start and was able to regain his composure. If he stays flat, he can certainly be in a position to move on to the next round. Cartoon Kid is a homegrown product of Marc Fillion.

The field for the first elimination is rounded out by two maidens who are eagerly waiting for their first win. Whos Your Daddy (Cartoon Daddy) was close to scoring a couple of times last year but only could muster second place. This year, the best he has done is a third which was just last week. Whos Your Daddy is scheduled to race Saturday in the stakes and then again on Sunday in a maiden’s pace.

The other maiden, Just A Cool Dude (Im The Pied Piper) is making only his second career start and he has been off for almost a month. He debuts on July 6 at the Loop where he finished fourth.

The field for the second elimination is as follows:

1. Tough Crowd – Marc Fillion (4-1)        
2. Peekaboo Pebbles – Donald Howlett (6-1)           
3. Chasin Rainbows – Dean Rey (3-1)                               
4. Trust Me Alot – Tyler Grundy (5-1)                             
5. Choozetocruise – Glenn Le Drew (2-1)  

The other Lady Crocus Stake winner, Choozetocruise (Lambretta) is putting her perfect 2024 three-for-three record on the line. She paced the winning mile in the Lady Crocus in an identical 1:58.4 and then followed that up with a 2:00.4 mile last week. The filly didn’t have the same spark last year. She went winless during her rookie campaign in six starts but however, did come close with a few top-three finishes.

Choozetocruise’s trainer, Trevor Williams has been the top trainer in Manitoba for the last few years. However, he has been off to a slower start, but things could turn around quickly as Choozetocruise is one of his top pacers in the stable.

The Andreoli Hanover-sired Tough Crowd is also coming into the elimination heat hot. He has won back-to-back races in Miami. His last start at the Loop was as impressive but earned a cheque with a fourth-place finish. This is another Marc Fillion homegrown colt that he has entered in.

Another of Lorraine Rey’s entries, Chasin Rainbows (Spinifinti) has a good chance of claiming victory on Saturday. She has back-to-back second-place finishes both losing out to Choozetocruise.  Her mile times are very competitive, and she is very likely to move on to the finals.

Last year’s MSSBA Juvenile Stake winner, Trust Me Alot (Trust The Artist) has yet to win this year. Her best finish was a third-place last week in Miami. Although she hasn’t won yet in 2024, she is coming off a two-win year last year. She also finished in the top two in all but one of her five starts.

Another filly, Peekaboo Pebbles (Westwardo Hanover) rounds out the field in the second elimination. She is coming off her first career win last week. She paced the mile in 2:09 for also her first finish in the top three.

For complete race entries, click here.

Post time at the Loop is 1:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday.

by Trey Colbeck, for Harnesslink