CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Mohawk Racetrack features an exceptional evening of Ontario Sires Stakes racing on Saturday, featuring the two-year-old pacing filly Gold Final and a pair of Gold Eliminations for the three-year-old pacing colts.
Freshman pacing filly Lucks Mistress will be looking for her third Gold Final victory from Post 7 in the fifth race, and heads into the $130,000 contest off an effortless 1:53.4 victory in last week’s elimination round.
“As long as she stays good she’s likely the best two-year-old filly in the Ontario Sires Stakes,” says trainer Carl Jamieson. “But they’ve got to stay sound. There are some big races left.”
Jamieson’s opinion of the Camluck daughter is born out by her record in the Gold Series. Through five starts Lucks Mistress has posted four wins, two in elimination action and two Gold Finals. She has not been bested in provincial action since her career debut on July 1, where she finished second in a Gold Elimination.
In addition to her Sires Stakes success, Princeton resident Jamieson and his partners in the Lucks Mistress Stable have given the filly an opportunity to test her skills against North America’s best. Over the last month Lucks Mistress competed in the Robert Stewart, She’s A Great Lady and Champlain Stakes, holding her own against the American-bred competition in all but the Sept. 4 She’s A Great Lady Final where she made an uncharacteristic break.
“She didn’t really warm up good that night,” says Jamieson, adding that a change to aluminium shoes may have been part of the problem. “Sometimes they can’t handle the aluminium shoes, it puts too much pressure on the legs of the young horses. We went back to steel shoes and she seemed a little better in them.”
In addition to Lucks Mistress, Jamieson will also harness Ingrid Bergrin in the $130,000 Gold Final. A two-time Gold Elimination winner, the Grinfromeartoear filly finished fourth behind Claires Apache last week in her first start since the Aug. 20 Robert Stewart Stakes.
“She got caught in and couldn’t get out, but she raced really well. She had the nine-hole too,” says Jamieson, who shares ownership on the filly with Jerry Jamieson of Blenheim, Thomas Kyron of Etobicoke and Dr. Robert Boyce of London. “And she should be a lot tighter this week off a race mile. That should help a little bit, we hope so anyway.”
Jody Jamieson qualified both fillies for the Final and will drive Lucks Mistress on Saturday, while Jamieson steps into the race bike behind Ingrid Bergrin. The pair will make their bid for a top finish from Post 1.
Once the freshman pacing fillies have battled their way around the Mohawk oval, the three-year-old pacing colts will step to centre stage in Races 6 and 10. With just two regular season events remaining before the $300,000 Super Final, competition will be intense between the colts hovering near the current cut off for the top 10.
“In the next two, if he can have some luck, hopefully he can get into the Super Final,” says trainer Scott Forbes of D Essential, who currently sits in tenth spot with 50 points.
The Apaches Fame gelding already has one Gold Elimination win to his credit and would love to score another on Saturday, but faces stiff competition in the sixth race from reigning Gold Final champion Armbro Balmoral. D Essential and driver Ron Pierce will start from Post 4, while Armbro Balmoral gets Post 5.
Perfect World Enterprises of Old Westbury, NY own D Essential and also have a starter in the second Gold Elimination. Geartogear will start from Post 6 in the eight-horse field and Pierce will be in his regular position in the race bike behind the Nat Varty trainee.
The top five finishers from each Gold Elimination will return to Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday, Oct. 9 for their second last $130,000 Gold Final.
Post time for this Saturday’s OSS showdown is 7:40 pm, with the two-year-old pacing filly Gold Final slated for Race 5 and the three-year-old pacing colts facing off in Races 6 and 10.