REXDALE, ON — His partners may have changed since last week’s Gold Elimination, but Don Bray’s enthusiasm for Northern Harmony is unaltered heading into Monday’s $130,000 Gold Series Final at Woodbine Racetrack.
After the Run The Table filly captured her Gold Elimination last week trainer Murray Brethour of Sunderland and Murray Shapely of Richmond Hill completed the sale of their shares to Gerrie Tucker of Montreal and Sampson Street Stables of Old Forge, PA. Bray and Angelo Dinardo considered joining their old partners, but decided to stick with the talented filly who had already paid off her yearling sale price after just two starts.
“Murray (Brethour) picked her out last fall and we hopped on the bandwagon,” recalls Bray. “Now we have new partners. Murray (Brethour) and Murray Shapley decided to sell their shares and we decided to keep ours because we are happy with her.”
Bray talked Dinardo into acquiring a piece of Northern Harmony last fall and he says the Etobicoke resident is thoroughly enjoying his first stab at ownership.
“I talked my partner into buying a horse this year and that’s his first horse, Northern Harmony. He got in too easy, he doesn’t know the pain of it,” jokes the long time horse owner. “He said the other day, “We got a good one,” and I said “Don’t count your chickens yet, because you just don’t know.”
Northern Harmony will have an opportunity to prove just how good she is when she faces the Gold Final field from Post 6 on Monday. It will be the filly’s first start from the Bill Robinson barn, where she moved after her 1:56.1 elimination win last Monday.
The other elimination winners, Town Jiffy and The Patriot, will challenge Northern Harmony from Posts 4 and 10. Northern Harmony’s new stablemate Town Jiffy captured the first of three eliminations last week in 1:56.2. The Village Jiffy daughter, owned by Linda Magid of Cambridge, was also a winner in the June 25 Trillium Series at Georgian Downs.
The Patriot, trained by John Kopas for Glengate Farms of Campbellville and Suvretta Stables of Toronto, posted the fastest win of the elimination round, stopping the clock in 1:56. Like Town Jiffy, The Patriot also has a Trillium trophy in her collection from the Georgian Downs event. Keith Oliver will be back in the race bike behind The Patriot on Monday, while Randy Wales gets his choice of the two Robinson trainees.
Post time at Woodbine Racetrack is 7:40 pm on Monday and the two-year-old pacing fillies will do battle in Race 5. Eight fillies who did not qualify for the Gold Final will compete in a $30,000 Consolation event in Race 2.