26-07-2025
Twolefttoload turns heads with R.C. Anderson Stakes triumph
Like a runaway freight train, there was no stopping Twolefttoload once she got rolling in the $40,000 R.C. Anderson Stakes on Tuesday night at Assiniboia Downs. At least not until she hit the wire.
After that, she coasted to a stop, turned, and trotted proudly back to the winner's circle to meet her injured but beaming groom Brittany Bergen and trainer Mike Nault.
'I was leading our other filly in the race, frankly, to the paddock, and I tripped and she stepped on me with her hind foot,' said Bergen, pointing out a bruise on her lower calf that looked like a hammer hit. 'She just stepped on me and stood there. But Twolefttoload won, so I didn't feel a thing after that.'
Jason Halstead / Assiniboia Photo
Mike Nault's assistant trainer/groom Brittany Bergen had a reason to smile after winning the R.C. Anderson Stakes with Twolefttoload.
Bergen was glowing as Twolefttoload strutted into the winner's circle like she owned the place. 'She's goofy, she's quirky, and she's always on edge around the barn,' said Bergen. 'But in the paddock and the race, she puts her game face on. She knows when it's time to go to work.'
Trailing by nearly 10 lengths early in the one-mile race behind fleet-footed favourite Nikkitysplit, Twolefttoload shifted gears after leaving the first turn, picking up horses with every stride, and by the time she got to the final turn, jockey Damario Bynoe had her in full gear and flying. There would be no stopping her now. She took over from Nickkitysplit in mid-stretch and drew off to win by 21/2 lengths.
It was the first stakes victory for Twolefttoload and a reversal of form from her previous start, where Nikkitysplit beat her by 31/2 lengths going three-quarters of a mile. The added distance made all the difference.
'She's so big,' said Nault. 'You don't want to ask her to sprint. She's not built for that. She's still maturing, still learning. But she's tough as nails, and she's only going to get better.'
Bred in Manitoba by Cam Ziprick and Charlie and Stephane Fouillard of Russell, Twolefttoload is the second stakes winner this year by Speculating. The other? Nikkitysplit. In a game where early success can make or break a stallion, it's been a breakthrough season for Speculating, who is also owned by Ziprick and Charlie Fouillard.
'We kind of flipped the script with this one,' said Ziprick. 'Last year, I wasn't even sure she'd be much. Her legs were going in every direction and she looked like an egg beater. But she's figured it out. The distance helps. The more you ask her to sprint, the worse her action gets. Let her roll, and she eats up ground like nobody's business.'
That long, steaming stride didn't come out of nowhere. Sire Speculating is a half-brother to $5.1-million earner and Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Well Armed, and graded stakes producer Witty, winner of the Railbird Stakes (G3). And he's by Medaglia d'Oro, whose progeny have earned more than $209 million.
Twoleftoload's dam, Talkn Til Midnight was a bit on the flighty side, but she was calm enough when it counted to win four races and finish second in a Maiden Special Weight race among the bluebloods at Saratoga. She also sold for US$180,000 as a two-year-old.
'She was a nut,' said Nault. 'But she had talent, and that nervous energy, it's a thing. Some of the best racehorses in history were out of quirky mares. You just have to learn how to channel it.'
Channeling that energy hasn't been easy. Twolefttoload isn't the type of filly you just tack up and send out for a jog. 'She's hard on herself,' said Nault. 'She throws her head, tries to run off, pounds the ground. She's tough to gallop. But she's got heart. You give her space to grow, and she'll give it back in spades.'
Assistant trainer and groom Bergen knows all about her quirks. She's been working with Nault for four years and says Twolefttoload is one of the most unique horses she's ever handled. 'She's a challenge,' said Bergen. 'But she's got personality. You earn her trust and she gives you everything.'
That trust paid off Tuesday night in the biggest way possible, and brought a bit of redemption for a filly who now appears to have a bright future ahead of her. 'She's going to be a better four-year-old than a three-year-old,' said Nault. 'I think the best is still to come.'
Nault, who is currently second in the trainer standings at the Downs with 16 wins, now trains the top Manitoba-bred three-year-olds in both the male and female divisions. Betterlucknexttime, a three-year-old gelding by Nonios, also owned by A2 Thoroughbreds and True North Thoroughbreds, recently won the $40,000 Frank Arnason Memorial Sire Stakes to move to the head of his class.
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There is no immediate stakes target for Twolefttoload. Nault and the ownership group of A2 Thoroughbreds and True North Thoroughbreds will likely look toward allowance company next.
'We've got some options,' said Nault. 'We'll let her tell us when she's ready again.'
Purchased for $23,000 in the 2023 Manitoba CTHS Yearling Sale, Twolefttoload has already earned over $50,000 from a 2-3-1 record in 10 starts, and looks like a filly who's just starting to figure things out.
'She was like a baby moose last year,' said Ziprick. 'A big, tough filly who just needed time and a little distance. Now she's turning into something special.'
'Buy the ticket, take the ride.'
— Hunter S. Thompson.
