Roy driving his own in Grassroots

Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots harness racing action for two-year-old pacing fillies begins July 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Louis-Philippe Roy is pulling double duty as driver and owner in three of the five divisions.

Two of the horses Roy is driving have been labelled morning line favourites, both at 7-2.

Maple (Sportswriter), who Roy is the sole owner of, goes in race 5, the third Grassroots division. The filly has made two starts in the two-year-old class at Mohawk.

“I think she is ready for a good effort,” said Roy. “She had a few starts where she needed some experience, and now she has it. I expect a good race from her.”

Eric Nadeau trains Maple, who is out of unraced Bettors Delight mare Bettor Beach. 

Best Actress (Betterthancheddar) is the second morning line favourite. Roy will handle the reins for in race 9. Also trained by Nadeau, the filly won a qualifier on June 24 at the Campbellville oval, setting a mark of 1:57.1.

“She has been showing a lot of talent,” said Roy. “It is hard to tell with babies because it is different week after week, but she is the one we had our eye on the most all winter long.”

Best Actress is out of Western Hanover mare Red Carpet Queen, who has produced four winners of over $100,000 from eight starters, including 11-year-old Lucky King who has a record of 49-37-46 from 313 starts. Roy co-owns the filly with Bill Donovan.

The final of Roy’s trio is Pocahontas Du Lac (Betterthancheddar). A filly who he bred with his brother, and his brother’s girlfriend.

“They handled the breeding and raised her until she was a yearling,” said Roy. “The fact it is such a long process makes it more rewarding if they do well.”

Pocahontas Du Lac is co-owned by Pierre-Luc Roy, Maude Larouche, and Jean Allaire.

For all three of his fillies Roy will try and keep them calm as they continue their young racing career’s.

“Two-year-olds are easy to excite, but they are hard to slow down to relax,” said Roy. “You’re not going to get a good result if they’re excited the first half. If you race them too hard, you will get empty. That’s my approach and pretty much everyone’s approach.”

For complete race entries, click here

For current OSS Standings, click here

From the Ontario Sires Stakes