DUNDAS, ON — For a moment during last week’s two-year-old pacing filly Gold Eliminations at Flamboro Downs, Patrick Keetch was not sure which horse he should be cheering for. The Hamilton resident selected and developed both Imagine Freedom and Draconian Promise, and they were neck and neck heading for the wire. Fortunately for Keetch the filly that he still owns ended up on the top and should be among the favourites for this Thursday’s $130,000 Gold Final.

“I trained them both last fall and then I sold Imagine Freedom to Tony Chiaravalle last week,” explains Keetch. “I owned all of Imagine Freedom so I let her go.”

Keetch’s wife Cully and Lawrence Simon of Hamilton share ownership on Draconian Promise, who cruised across the finish line one and a quarter lengths ahead of her former stablemate in 1:59.1. The Rustler Hanover daughter will start from Post 6 in this week’s $130,000 rematch, and her trainer was satisfied with the draw.

“Post 6 should be all right because she’s really not a real fast leaver,” says Keetch of the leggy filly. “But she can really close, as the two Mohawk qualifiers show. She got interfered with in the second one and still came home in :27.3.

“If she can get out in the flow maybe past the half, I think she can close fast enough.”

In addition to Imagine Freedom, who will start from Post 1 in Race 7, Keetch will have his eyes peeled for the other elimination winners Alias Seelster at Post 8 and Dont You Smile from Post 9.

“There is a lot of speed in there this week. There are a lot of fast ones on the inside and Mike Sumner has drawn the eight-hole with that one of Ray Bunn’s (Alias Seelster), and she’s a fast filly, so there might be an explosive front half.”

Alias Seelster scored the fastest win of the three eliminations, hitting the wire in 1:57.2, and trainer Ray Bunn was concerned that the mile and the 30 degree plus heat would take its toll on the filly.

“That was a test, especially for a filly, to be that far away from home for the first time, trucking by herself, the heat and the trip she went, but she came home and stuck her head right in her feed bucket,” says the Denfield resident. “And when she played in the field the next day with her paddock buddy, I was glad to see her take off across the paddock squealing.

“She seemed to pass the first test pretty good anyway.”

Bunn shares ownership of Alias Seelster with Lisa Steward of Denfield and the 29 year old trainer says he has believed the Intrepid Seelster daughter had talent since her early lessons last fall.

“I had her sister last year and she had a quick turn of foot, but she wasn’t as smart as this one,” he explains. “Training down she did everything you asked her to do. I liked her right from the start; that’s easy to say now, but if you ask anyone around here I was kind of touting her right from the get go.”

Neither Alias Seelster, nor Draconian Promise were expensive yearling acquisitions, especially when compared with the third elimination winner Don’t You Smile. Alias Seelster was hammered down for $8,000 out of the Forest City Yearling Sale, Draconian Promise went home from the Summer Sizzler Sale for $4,500, while Dont You Smile rang in at $70,000 from the Forest City auction.

The talented young pacing fillies will light up the Flamboro Downs oval in Race 7 on Thursday, with the Dundas oval’s first race rolling onto the track at 2:45 pm.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdth.html