REXDALE, ON — Woodbine Racetrack fans were smiling after Thursday night’s two-year-old pacing colt Gold Final. The colt they sent off as their top choice delivered the goods, and did so in impressive fashion.
Racing like an aged veteran, Putasmileon saw action three-wide from the rail on two occasions during the race, and still came on to win down the stretch by half a length over pacesetting stablemate Cozy Xample. The Grinfromeartoear colt stopped the clock at 1:54.4, shaving a full second off the personal best he delivered in last week’s elimination victory.
“He is a super, super nice horse to drive. He just does everything the way he is supposed to do it,” said driver Randy Waples after the race. “He responds when you ask him to pace, he can take a lot of air and he can race out of a hole too. It just seems like he is the real deal.”
Leaving from Post 8, Putasmileon was three-wide around the first turn and then settled in on the rail in sixth as driver Rick Zeron and Cozy Xample took the field to a :56.2 half. Heading for the three-quarters Waples sent the colt up the outside and shifted three-wide around the final turn to avoid a stalling Apache Limo and Sauble Jackson.
“Behind the gate he kind of wanted to bomb out of there a little bit more than last week, but once we started heading back he was good. He followed cover really well,” explained Waples. “I moved him three-wide because I wanted him too, not because he did. It just seemed like they were starting to stall out there. With that heavy wind I didn’t want to give up too much ground. I know Rick’s (Zeron) horse is a nice colt too. I didn’t want him to get right away from me.”
Waples added that the wind played a significant role in his strategy on Thursday.
“I don’t think this is the sort of night where you are going to see a lot of off the pace winners. It just seems like if you can get up closer to the front you are going to go a bigger mile,” said the Milton resident. “Like I said, around the last turn they weren’t keeping up that well and if I would have waited for cover I probably would have been out there four or five wide. I figured it was best to send him out then and keep him down close to Rick. He is easy on himself, when he clears horses he has a tendency to stay there and not really pace on.”
Waples handles the colt for trainer Bill Robinson of Hagersville and owners Fred Monteleone Stable LLC of Pompano Beach, FL. Monteleone acquired the colt, whose mother Giggles N Grins is a half-sister to $2 million winner Die Laughing, for $40,000 US at last fall’s Kentucky Standardbred Yearling Sale and has already recouped $95,089 CDN through the colt’s Gold Series victories and a July 1 warm-up at the Grassroots level.
Robinson trainee Cozy Xample surprised fans with his runner-up placing for owner-breeder Robert Hamather of Exeter and long shot Indianwood beat out a quartet of colts who thundered down the stretch in hot pursuit of the third-place finisher’s share.
Elimination winners Sauble jackson and Apache Limo faded to ninth and tenth after pressing the pace around the final turn.
The gifted two-year-old pacing colts make their third Gold Series start on Aug. 10 at Flamboro Downs. Before that many of the youngsters will be focused on capturing the lion’s share of the $200,000 Battle Of Waterloo at Elmira Raceway on July 25 and Aug. 4. Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Woodbine Racetrack on Friday, Aug. 1 with Gold Series Elimination action for the three-year-old trotting fillies.