REXDALE, ON — Jasper Avenue delivered an outstanding performance at Woodbine Racetrack on Friday evening to capture her first ever Gold Final victory.
Paul MacDonell, who picked up the drive on the Bill Robinson trainee in last week’s elimination, executed a masterful strategy with the three-year-old pacing filly. Leaving from Post 4 MacDonell tucked Jasper Avenue in behind heavy favourite Burning Point and stuck to her like glue as pacesetter Rocket N Rollit logged early fractions of :27 and :56. When Kevin Wallis sent Burning Point up the outside heading for the 1:23.2 three-quarters, MacDonell did the same.
As the fillies turned for home Ascending was on top by one and three-quarter lengths, but Burning Point was turning up the heat. As the fillies charged down the lane, Jasper Avenue matched strides with the favourite and as the duo hit the wire the Village Jasper daughter stuck her nose in front to score the 1:51.1 victory. Ascending stayed game for third, with Please Me Please riding Jasper Avenue’s coat tails in for fourth.
“That was kind of my game plan right from the start, try to keep as close to Kevin Wallis’ mare Burning Point as long as I could, being that she was starting right beside of me,” said MacDonell from the winner’s circle. “Once I was able to do that and follow her as far as I could, Jasper Avenue had just enough to get by her in the lane.
“Burning Point just seems to find more all of the time, but I thought if I could keep close and get in there for a big cheque it would help, and she happened to get by her late.”
Bred and owned by William Loyens of London, Jasper Avenue was making just her second start back after a ten week lay off. A winner of one Gold Elimination and a Grassroots event in nine starts as a two-year-old, the filly made just two starts this May before being sidelined through the first two Gold events. After winning a July 25 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack in 1:55.4, Jasper Avenue finished fifth in her elimination to squeak into the Final, but left MacDonell feeling she would be stronger for the $130,000 contest Friday.
“I was kind of confident in her. She paced a really strong last quarter off of pretty near a couple of months (lay off),” he said. “When they can come home in :26 and change off of a lay off it gives you some confidence. She was ready to go last week I thought.”
Not privy to MacDonell’s assessment, Woodbine fans sent Jasper Avenue off as their sixth choice in the nine horse field and the filly returned a healthy $61.00 on a winning ticket, $16.30 to place and $8.00 on a show wager. Burning Point returned $2.50 to place and $2.10 to show, while second choice Ascending’s third-place performance was worth $3.10. The Jasper Avenue and Burning Point exactor paid $209.00 and adding Ascending into the mix netted a $915.00 triactor pay out. Fans who picked the numbers 4, 3, 1, and 6 for their superfecta whirl banked a whopping $2,127.60.
The three-year-old pacing fillies now enjoy a seven-week break in Ontario Sires Stakes action while some of them battle North America’s best in events like the Aug. 16 Fan Hanover.
Woodbine Racetrack continues an action-packed Ontario Sires Stakes weekend with the three-year-old pacing colt Gold Final on Saturday and the three-year-old trotting filly Gold Final on Monday. Post time for both evenings is 7:40 pm.