The plan was to have a non-stakes race
under his belt prior to the Molson, but instead the strapping five-year-old
will come into the race fresh off a dominant nine-length qualifying win at
Mohawk Racetrack in 1:52.2.
Despite the lack of a prep race, co-owner
Steve Calhoun is confident that the pacer will be ready to go on Friday night.
“He’ll be ready,” says the resident of
nearby Chatham, Ontario. “Casie (trainer Casie Coleman) always does a
tremendous job of bringing her horses ready and I expect nothing less with
‘Cheddar’. We would love to have gotten a race into him before this but that’s
the way it worked out.”
Betterthancheddar established himself as
one of the very best older pacers in the game last season at age four. He won
nine of 11 starts while banking $800,000 and posted major victories in the
$500,000 Ben Franklin at Harrahs Philadelphia and the $216,500 Robert Quillen
Memorial at Harrington Raceway in Delaware.
He was put on the shelf following that
scintillating 1:49.2 victory after it was discovered he had a minor, soft
tissue injury. Calhoun says that the pacer relished the time off and expects he
could be even better this year.
“He has matured into a very impressive
individual,” he explains. “He has gained
probably 200 to 250 pounds and is more muscular than he was last season. Casie
knew he was special from day one and he should just be a bit tougher and
stronger this year which will help him in what looks like a very deep
division.”
The Molson Pace is an example of that depth,
featuring the two-time defending champion and richest pacer of all-time Foiled
Again ($4.835 million) along with a supporting cast that includes exciting
four-year-old prospects State Treasurer and A Rocknroll Dance. Combined, the
eight entrants in the Molson Pace have banked more than $11 million lifetime.
Calhoun expects to have several family members and friends from
the area on hand to cheer on Betterthancheddar this Friday night and is excited
to be competing on his home turf. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and Casie and I have been fortunate enough to compete in this race before with some success,” he admits. “It would be a big thrill to win it and I’m just looking forward to the challenge of competing against such a great field.”
First post for the 12-race program this
Friday at The Raceway is 7:05 p.m.
Molson
Pace – What You Need To Know:
·
Post time – 7:05 p.m.
·
Wagering:
$5K Guaranteed Pool Early Pick-4
$10K Guaranteed Pool Late Pick-4
$7,500 Guaranteed Pool Super Hi-5
·
Mystery Voucher giveaway with
program purchase
·
Molson ‘After Party’ featuring Rockstar
Live
·
FREE programs and streaming
video at www.westernfairdistrict.com
