The Jeff Lilley stable is being unleashed in full force the month of December.
The Milton resident qualified two of his youngsters last week in Charlottetown, while a former pupil of his is making some noise in the nation’s capital.
Bettim Jackie was a winner last week at Rideau Carleton Raceway outside Ottawa with a 1:58.2 score while demolishing her opposition by 10 lengths.
Guy Gagnon, who is nominated for the O’Brien Award of Horsemanship against Winsloe’s Marc Campbell, drove Bettim Jackie in that event for trainer Matt McDonald. Lilley co-owns the two-year-old daughter of Andreoli Hanover with Blair MacLauchlan of Stratford and Danny Purcell of Newport, N.S. Bettim Jackie was impressive early in the Atlantic Stakes season in 2017 before hitting a rough patch and being shut down in September. She was entered to race again Thursday night at Rideau Carleton Raceway in the same class.
On the Island, Lilley will send out two-year-old Image Of Dawn colt Bettim Joe and four-year-old Aahm Canadian Now mare Bettim Vicky for their first lifetime outings in Race 1 Saturday at the Charlottetown Driving Park. In an odd twist of fate, while Bettim Joe is two years the junior of Bettim Vicky, he is actually her uncle. Bettim Joe is out of former tough open mare Bettim Amanda, that Lilley also campaigned, while Bettim Vicky is out of Bettim Laura, a daughter of Bettim Amanda and half-sister to Bettim Joe. Fans may recall the early rivalry Bettim Laura had with the undefeated Meridian Magic in the 2010 racing season.
Bettim Joe and Bettim Vicky are both co-owned by Lilley, MacLauchlan and Purcell with Dawn Moore of Milton also sharing the ownership of Bettim Vicky.
The CDP program kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday with Gary Chappell driving Bettim Joe at 6-1 odds from Post 2 while Bettim Vicky has leading driver Campbell in the seat from Post 4 at 3-1 morning line odds.
O’Brien’s
The 2018 O’Brien awards are set for Feb. 3 in Mississauga, Ont., with Campbell nominated for the Horsemanship award, as previously mentioned. The rest of the finalists have not been announced yet but the Future Star category has some Island flavour with Brett MacDonald, a leading driver at Rideau Carleton Raceway and son of Island native Ron MacDonald, the presumed front runner in the category while Island driver and Cape Breton native Adam Merner is on the list with strong credentials to compete for the award. Merner has 80 wins and $176,523 in purse earnings so far in the 2017 season.
A correction to what I wrote last week regarding Travis Cullen being disqualified from the Horsemanship award at the O'Brien Awards. While a horse of Cullen's did receive a positive test, Cullen has appealed the outcome and has not received a suspension from the Ontario Racing Commission. Innocent until proven guilty reigns in these sorts of situations. But regardless of the outcome it still disqualifies him from any O'Brien consideration, where he was also a frontrunner for trainer of the year.
Nick’s Picks
Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at the CDP:
Race 1 – Bettim Vicky
Race 2 – Southside Lightning
Race 3 – Oceanview Beemer
Race 4 – Howmacs Dragonator
Race 5 – Yankee No More
Race 6 – Holy Molie Maggie
Race 7 – Drivingthedragon N
Race 8 – Southfield Sassy
Race 9 – Howmac Missy
Race 10 – Darth Bader
Race 11 – Ideal Space
Race 12 – Silverinyourpocket
Race 13 – Smiley Bayama
Race 14 – Jetta Flys
Race 15 – Zingers Laugh
Race 16 - Heart And Soul
Nicholas Oakes’ column appears in The Guardian each Friday. He can be reached at [email protected].
