It was a big night for the youngest owner at the Cornerstone Raceway Friday as 14-year-old Levi Morin’s horse Stagger Lee took one half of the SSBOA Prairie Lace Stakes
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“It was very big, very exciting,” said Morin at the barns after the completion of the nine-race card.
Stagger Lee, with Brian Gray in the cart, topped the six-horse field in 2:03.3, edging out Glenn LeDrew and Marlowe at the finish line in the $4,000 event.
Morin, who grooms with Gray, said the win was satisfying because they had put a lot of work into the horse. “I’ve been working very hard trying to get her ready. This week we probably worked the hardest,” he said.
Morin explained as a groom he does the harnessing, helps jog the horse through the week, and helps cool her down after races. He said working with Gray he has learned a lot in a short time. “It’s a good experience. He knows so much. I’ve learned a lot from him,” he said.
Being relatively new to the sport, and young, Morin said everyone at the track seems willing to share their knowledge. “I get lots of support from other drivers and other trainers,” he said.
Morin was also quick to credit Gray, the driver and trainer, with the win in the Saskatchewan Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association sponsored race. “A lot of that win was him [Gray]. He drove the horse perfectly,” said Morin.
While only 14, Morin has been an owner for three years already.
“My Uncle Jim [Britton] from Alberta raced here one summer...He gave me my first horse for free,” he said. “From there I just progressed to getting better horses.”
While racing is in his blood, his father Shaun having been in the thoroughbred and speed horse side of racing for years, the younger Morin is also a promising hockey player, and he does admit that is his favoured sport, although he added he’s always likely to own horses too.
In the other half of the SSBOA Prairie Lace Stakes, LeDrew drove Dal Reo Indy to top stop in 2:02.4, easily out-distancing Jeffrey Stone and Jomars Tami in second.
It was the third straight win for the eight-year-old Dal Reo Indy, and fifth win in seven starts. This year in 16 races, the mare has had 13 top-three finishes, including six wins.
Trainer Shawn Worthen was asked how he was keeping the mare so sharp. He said it’s a case of basically leaving her alone. “She don't get a whole lot of training. She likes the paddock,” he said. “...It’s letting her do whatever she likes, so she gets a lot of paddock time. It’s all the horse. The key is keeping her happy.”
Worthen said in general Dal Reo Indy is just a horse who knows what she is doing on the track. “She knows how to read a program. She knows when she's in tough,” he said with a smile, adding this season she had simply rose to every challenge.
The only thing Dal Reo Indy doesn’t like is the whip, and driver LeDrew knows that so he never touches the horse now, said Worthen. “The wheel disks take a beating [being whipped for noise], but she keeps going too,” said Worthen.
To view Friday's results, click here.
(A Trot Insider exclusive by Calvin Daniels)