REXDALE, ON — When Ontario’s top three-year-old pacing colts return to Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday night for their third Gold Series Final fans can count on a repeat of the high speed display they saw in the elimination round last weekend. Elimination winners Armbro Warranty and Corona Grande will line up side-by-side at Posts 3 and 4, Pacific Titan gets Post 3 and Silver D Moon, who won the first Gold Final, will start from Post 5.
“It’s a tough, tough race. All the good ones drew inside,” says Jack Darling, who trains Corona Grande. “There is a ton of early speed; it should be a wild race. I don’t know how fast they’ll go, but it will be fast.”
Undefeated in the Grassroots Series for the past two seasons, Corona Grande made his first Gold start a winning one with a 1:51.4 effort in the first of two eliminations last weekend. The Camluck colt bested heavy favourite Pacific Titan, surprising his trainer as much as he did the Woodbine fans who sent him off as their fourth choice in the eight-horse field.
“I knew he’d be competitive in there, but I was kind of surprised that he won it. I didn’t think he could (beat Pacific Titan) going in, but you never know until you try,” says the Windsor resident, who shares ownership on Corona Grande with Dan Smith of Dorchester. “That was the fastest race of his life. I just hope he can do it again.”
Trevor Ritchie will be back in the race bike behind Corona Grande on Saturday night and Darling hopes the veteran reinsman can carve out a trip for the winner of $169,892, avoiding any speed duels that may occur in the early going. “I like him, he can really come out of a hole,” Darling says. “If he gets a trip where he can sit in he’ll have some pace at the finish.”
Corona Grande has been honing his skills at the Grassroots level since his August debut last summer. He posted eight straight wins as a two-year-old, from August 8 to November 3, including four regular season Grassroots events, his Grassroots Semifinal and the Grassroots Championship. This year the half brother to $205,531 winner Monkey Business and $142,894 winner Lady Nukes has posted four wins, one second and one third in eight starts and added two Grassroots trophies and the Gold Elimination trophy to his substantial collection.
“He’s ready to get at it, he’s been pretty lightly raced,” explains Darling. “I think racing him just in the Grassroots last year kind of saved him. He’s come back strong this year.”
Darling adds that Corona Grande is feeling good heading into Saturday night’s $130,000 contest where he will face reigning Gold Final champ Armbro Warranty, who set an all-time Ontario Sires Stakes record with his 1:50.3 elimination win.
Fred Logan of Dutton trains Armbro Warranty for his partners Petrina and Helen May Lawrence of Madison Heights, MI and Ronald Lesky of Hazel Park, MI. The Village Jiffy colt will be reunited with driver Paul Mackenzie for the Final, with his pilot for the elimination round, Randy Waples, committed to the Bill Robinson trained Pacific Titan.
Woodbine Racetrack sends its first race to the post at 7:40 pm and the three-year-old pacing colts will take their high speed battle to the track in Race 5 on Saturday night.