Ross happy with decision to spend winter in Ontario

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – After wintering at Payson Park in Indiantown, Fla., for the past 10 years, this past winter was much different for trainer John Ross. With the value of the Canadian dollar declining toward the end of the 2015 Woodbine season and Payson Park switching barn assignments due to high numbers, Ross opted to stay home during the offseason.

“It was a financial thing with the exchange rate,” he said. “Payson Park was extra full, and they weren’t giving me the barn back that I’ve been in for the last 10 years. I felt if they’re not going to do that for me, it was an easy decision to stay home.”

Instead, Ross took his horses to Saul McHugh’s Global Equine at Kelynack Stables in Milton, Ontario. So far, the decision to stay home has appeared to pay off for Ross, who has three wins from his first six starts of the Woodbine meet, including a stakes win with R U Watchingbud in the New Providence Stakes on April 23.

“I froze my butt off, for one thing,” Ross said about the change in his winter home. “It was a little bit tougher weather-wise where there’s days you can train and there’s days you can’t, but we were on a good farm. Saul was in charge up there, and we worked together and trained the horses up there. What a top-notch-caliber farm that is up there. Glenn Harvey built that place up with his design, and it’s first class.”

Ross said his barn was ready to ship into Woodbine right when the backstretch opened Feb. 16.

“As soon as the track opened in February, we were here,” he said. “We have a great crew here that works hard every day, and no matter the weather, we just went to it. There was only one day where the track was closed, and we just worked through it. It all worked out pretty good. The horses have been going since December, so they’re ready.”

Ultraflame targets Queenston

Ross got his season started on the right note by winning his first start of the year with his lone Queen’s Plate nominee, Ultraflame. Although Ultraflame has yet to race around two turns, Ross said he will continue down to the road to the Queen’s Plate with the 3-year-old.

“I haven’t ruled it out yet,” he said. “Right now, he’s a much stronger and more mature horse. I’m seeing some real nice things from him. We’re on that path now until he tells us otherwise.”

Ultraflame made his 3-year-old debut a winning one, defeating Ontario-sired allowance horses in a five-furlong sprint over the Tapeta here on opening day, April 9. Ross said Ultraflame will make his next start in the $150,000 Queenston Stakes over seven furlongs on Tapeta on May 21, a race Ross won last year with R U Watchingbud.

“I want to retain my title,” Ross said.

Looking ahead to the Queen’s Plate, Ross said he wasn’t sure whether Ultraflame will want to run 1 1/4 miles.

“I’m a little skeptical, but I’ll let him tell me,” he said. “He’s by Old Forester, and a lot of them don’t want to go too long. If that’s the case, I won’t push him too long. I’ll find his forte, so to speak, and I’ll keep him in that category. But I’m not ruling out the Plate right now because there has been some [Old Forester progeny] that have gone two turns. He’s out of a Mr. Greeley mare, and Mr. Greeley on the bottom has some dosage as well.”

There’s no doubting that Ultraflame has talent. As a 2-year-old, Ultraflame recorded a win and placed in two stakes behind Amis Gizmo, including a second-place finish in the Frost King Stakes over seven furlongs to close out his 2015 campaign.

“On form, he was second to the best Canadian-bred 2-year-old, Amis Gizmo,” Ross said. “He was second to him and third to him, and he got the seven-eighths not too bad.”

◗ Woodbine will hold its annual Kentucky Derby preview seminar at 11 a.m. Eastern next Saturday on the second-floor grandstand. Jim Bannon and Jim Mazur will guide attendees through the Kentucky Derby field. For those who can’t attend the seminar, a live stream will be available on WoodbineEntertainment.com.