Last
Saturday, flight delays almost caused Filion and Jody Jamieson (driver of
Hambletonian elimination winner Knows Nothing) to miss their assignments.
“It
was unbelievable,” recalled the 43-year-old reinsman. “That was a very
treacherous day. We were going to fly commercial and it kept being delayed
because planes were grounded in Newark due to thunderstorms. So, Jody Jamieson
arranged to have a friend fly us from Burlington to the Poconos. That’s as far
he could fly us. From there, we rented a car, and let’s just say we drove very
fast in the pouring rain. When we got here I could see the starting gate taking
off for the fourth race, and Prestidigitator was in the fifth.”
Filion
is looking for a smoother trip this week with Prestidigitator, who will start
from post six in the final.
Prestidigitator
qualified for the Hambletonian final by finishing third in his elimination
race. The colt was carried wide around
both turns and still managed to rally for third (timed in 1:54) behind
Hambletonian favorite, Uncle Peter.
“To
me, this colt was always a special horse,” said Filion. “He’s not the easiest
horse to drive, but he’s got so much potential. I never had to push him much
until last week. It was unreal. I think he went a mile and a quarter. My dad
[Ives] asked me if I was making sure it was a mile track! We’ll look for a
shorter route this time!
Aside
from getting in an acclimating mile at the Big M, Prestidigitator bounced back
from breaking stride in the Canadian Breeders Championship at Mohawk.
“The
week before, when he made the break, he got pinched a bit but he was also not
100 percent,” noted Filion. “Yet when he’s right, he’s a tremendous horse. Last
week, he felt maybe 90 percent. If we can get that 10 percent back and a decent
trip we have as good a shot as anybody else in the race. I think we’ll get
enough speed to shoot at. I’m very pleased with our post position. It’s just
perfect. Uncle Peter is the main contender, and Knows Nothing raced well. He’s
the other the colt by Kadabra, and that sire has done a great job for Ontario.”
Trained
by Dustin Jones, the Kadabra colt was a $120,000 Harrisburg yearling, and has
earnings of $445,943 for Serge Godin’s Ecurie Synergie of Montreal,
Quebec. Prestidigitator has been a star
in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, and capped his freshman season with an
8-1/4 length win in the Super Final at Woodbine in 1:56.3. He also finished
fourth in the Breeders Crown.
Filion
is looking forward to lining up alongside a special friend at the starting gate
in the Hambletonian.
“When
I was really young, Mike Lachance [who will drive MVP] and my dad would race at
the same tracks, and Mike would babysit me. I know he won with the longest shot
in Hambletonian history [Amigo Hall at 27-1 in 2003]. You can never count him
out.”
Filion
will also driver Panther Hanover in the $275,000 Anthony Abbatiello SBOA New
Jersey Classic on Saturday after that colt finished second in his
elimination. The Quebec native is one of the leading drivers on the
Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit. He comes off a career year in 2011 with
$6.4 million in purses won, and is cautiously optimistic about the future
despite the cancellation of the Slots at Racetracks program in Ontario.
“Yes,
last year was a very good season, and so far 2012 has been even better. I live
in Milton and I’m actually just catch driving right now. It’s tough what’s
happening right now in Ontario, but I’m just going to wait and see. Hopefully,
the WEG tracks will work something out with the Provincial Government.”
“My
relationship with [trainer] Dustin Jones goes back over 20 years, and I’ve been
fortunate to be his go-to- man for the past few seasons. Last year, he made a
big move from Quebec and bought a farm in Campbellville, right near Mohawk. The
recent news is tough for him to deal with. It makes winning these big races
mean even more and also kind of bittersweet. It may be just once in a lifetime.
"I’ve
been in Ontario close to four years. I was here before that in 1999 to 2001
because things were not doing too well in Quebec. I went back home when they
got more money for their sires stakes, but then more recently they had shut
down racing.
“My
father, Ives still operates Bayama Farms in Quebec. He’s racing a few in Ottawa
at Rideau Carlton, and five or six in the Toronto area. At one point, he had
maybe 150 horses, counting broodmares. It was probably the largest operation in
that province. They’re trying to revive the industry there, but it’s going to
be a very long process.
“Definitely,
my greatest experience came driving Goliath Bayama. He was ‘The Monster from
Montreal’. In 2001, we won the Breeders Crown and the US Pacing Championship
back-to-back at the Meadowlands. He was second to The Panderosa in the 1999
North America Cup and made $1.5 million. He’s still standing in Ontario, but
he’s not breeding many mares at age 16. Serge Godin also owns him now. He
bought him off my dad.”
