August 6, 2019 - Despite the fact that she’d only been ridden three times before, and the last time was more than a year ago, OSAS ambassador Hiltons Hot Stuff (aka Paris) was impressive under saddle at yesterday’s Industry Day at Grand River Raceway.
“She was an absolute professional, just a beautiful mare,” said OSAS’s Joanne Colville who rode Paris and acted as outrider for the special race card alongside her daughter Emma Christoforou who was aboard Sniper.
Paris always draws attention because of her beautiful markings which are very unusual in Standardbreds. One of her admirers yesterday was George Harrison from Wales who co-owns the winner of the signature race of the day, the $239,000 Battle of Waterloo, Sports Obsession along with the colt’s trainer Carl Jamieson.
“He recalled Paris racing in England and knew of her family,” noted Joanne. Paris, now 10, raced in England before being exported to Canada in 2014. An attempt was made to race her and when that proved unsuccessful she became one of three OSAS ambassadors. She’s kept busy promoting the versatility of the Standardbred horse with OSAS’s Meet & Greet program, the Drive With Us and at various shows and racetracks. In fact it was a busy weekend for her as she was also the Meet & Greet horse at Mohawk on Saturday night.