Last year, filly Mission Brief won her elimination and finished second to Pinkman in the final.
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Gingras, a Cream Ridge resident, has no question in Southwind Frank’s ability heading into the Hambletonian. I really felt strongly about my decision when I made it.
Southwind Frank has win 16 of 18 career starts. “I figured John would come (with Celebrity Eventsy) and when he did it made my job really easy”.
The season-long favorite to win the Hambletonian, Southwind Frank enters the event off a 1:52.1 victory at The Meadowlands Saturday night in the Reynolds Memorial Stakes. “There were three horses in the race that I have tremendous respect for, and we were the lucky ones”. You are not going in thinking this is going to be a cakewalk.
“I’m very confident, especially after last Saturday”, said Gingras. Burke says he is feeling good about the odds that his favorite horse, ‘Southwind Frank, ‘ will win.
“Even if he races just okay I think I have a really good chance”. “He was completely on his own”, said the driver. Viewed as a quirky underdog past year, Marion Marauder has grown and matured into one of the top contenders in the Hambletonian.
Takter trains All The Time, a Muscle Hill filly, for owners/breeders Al Libfeld and Marvin Katz.
The defeats stung, but Gingras – who relocated to the USA from Quebec in 2001 and has become one of the sport’s elite drivers – is looking forward to many more opportunities.
“I don’t know [what her bottom is], but it was pretty impressive [Friday, July 29] when she beat those horses the way she did it”, said Gingras on the mare’s record-equaling mile of 1:51 1/5 despite making a break past the opening quarter. He realizes there were opportunities lost and hopes the stars will align for him this Hambletonian Day. “I’ve been doing it the last four years. You have to forget about it and move on”. In 2014, Gingras drove the heavily favored Father Patrick, who uncharacteristically went off stride at the start and was never a factor in the race. There’s no reason the week before the Hambletonian to win by five lengths when all we were trying to do was prep him.
Southwind Frank will start from post 5 in the second of two eliminations while Bar Hopping has the rail in the other elimination.
Last year’s loss was especially hard because Gingras drove both elimination winners, filly Mission Brief and gelding Pinkman, but chose the filly for the final and came in second as the two battled to the wire.
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In the stretch Gingras angled All The Time to the outside of the leaders, and she would sprint right past them.
