Woodbine Harness: Zip Car looks to pick up the pace in Blizzard series

Zip Car, a mere $1,000 yearling purchase, has the chance to make headlines when she begins in the second round of the Blizzard Series on Friday at Woodbine Racetrack.

The bay pacing mare, who is owned and trained by Heather Toll along with her fiancé Mark Beavan, finished a game second in the opening round last week, which was just her first start after an extensive layoff. The daughter of Royal Mattjesty did all the work on the front-end before settling for second, beaten just a half length, in 1:56 3/5.

“That was a really good start for her,” Toll said from her home in Dungannon. “I wasn’t sure how tight she would be because she only qualified in 2:02 at Western Fair coming into the race. I would have liked to get a start under her belt before the series, but we had a bit of a virus come into the barn, which prevented us from that.”

This weekend, Zip Car will look for her second career tally with Doug McNair once again at the helm.

"She’s in with some pretty good horses and post nine doesn’t help us much,” Toll said. “She does have terrific gate speed and that’s probably her best asset. She always gives 100 percent and we really admire that about her.”

The speedy pacing mare, who has banked $29,570 in her young career, has certainly exceeded Toll and Beaven’s expectations.

So how did the pair end up with Zip Car for just $1,000?

“Well that’s a bit of a funny story,” Toll said with a chuckle. “She went into the sales ring a few years ago at Flamboro (2011 Canadian Yearling Sale) and couldn’t get a bid,” Toll explained. “Finally, the auctioneer said ‘Who wants this filly for $1,000?’ so I put my hand up and we ended up getting her. She was on the smaller side and had a boggy hock, but we took a chance.”

The young filly raced as two-year-old with eight starts, but began to flourish as a sophomore.

She began her three-year-old season in early May with a second place finish at Western Fair before winning her elimination of the City of London Pacing Series in a speedy 1:56 3/5. Ten days later in the rich $40,200 final, the talented filly finished a game second.

Despite a limited campaign as sophomore, with only six starts due to injury, Zip Car earned a handsome $20,950.

“She was racing very well and was in the Town Pro Series and finished fourth in the first leg,” Toll explained. “I always like to turn my horses out during the week and I went to get her from the paddock one day and she came in the barn lame on her one hock. We took her to the clinic and she developed a third parcel slab fracture in her left hock.”

Toll explained that the mare didn’t require surgery, but needed stall rest and time away from the track.

“She got about eight weeks off and began training back. She has come back very well and we were very happy with her first start last week.”

Now that Toll and Beaven’s proud horse has returned to the races, the pair are enjoying the fruits of racing and could be in store for a prosperous year.

edited release-WEG