Published: November 7, 2012 9:10 am ET
Last Comment: November 7, 2012 10:21 am ET | 1 Comment(s) | Jump to Comments
“I wrote a big note to everybody — no matter what, I won’t be here. I’ll be there during the day, but I’ll be leaving at five no matter what happens.”Observant patrons at Newmarket’s The Buttery Restaurant will notice a change in routine on Saturday evening as chef Carlo Rovella takes the night off to head for Woodbine Racetrack and the $2.4 million Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals.
Rovella’s absence from the popular Newmarket dining spot is the result of his two-year-old pacing colt OK Fantastic’s entry in the year end championship. After missing the middle of the season due to sickness, the gelding has finally started to regain his form and heads into the season finale off an easy win in an Oct. 29 overnight at Woodbine and a pair of runner-up finishes in the last Gold Elimination and Final of the season.
“It’s looking promising, we’re going to keep our fingers crossed,” says Rovella, who shares ownership of OK Fantastic with Mardon Stables of Loretto. “We were happy the way he went (Oct. 29). He [paced] well and responded coming for home; we were very happy with the way he raced.”
Alliston resident Bruce MacDonald conditions OK Fantastic, who has tallied one win, four seconds, two thirds and earnings of $98,900 in his first 10 starts. The son of Mach Three and Fanciful will be looking for a second victory from Post 5 in Saturday’s talent laden field, with Oakville resident Rick Zeron at the controls.
“Everything has worked out so far, all we need is some racing luck on Saturday and we’ll see what happens,” says Toronto resident Rovella. “It’s not going to be easy. There’s a lot of good horses in there, so whoever wins it will have to earn it.”
Racing action gets under way at 7:30 pm on Saturday evening at Woodbine Racetrack and the eight Super Finals will be featured in Races 2 through 5 and 7 through 10OK
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