DUNDAS, ON — Ontario’s talented three-year-old trotting fillies make their first Gold Series start in seven weeks this Friday at Flamboro Downs. Each trainer followed a different strategy during the gap in Ontario Sires Stakes action, and trainer Tom Durand says his game plan was dictated by Maleficent’s enthusiasm for her daily rations.

“She’s kind of a really big eater. She’ll put on a lot of weight if you don’t keep her exercising,” says the horseman, who trains the filly for breeders Thomas and Sherri Vincent of Belwood and wife June Durand of Puslinch. “She was out in the paddock quite a bit, but we kept her jogging.”

In preparation for Friday’s contest Durand qualified Maleficent on Oct. 11 at Mohawk Racetrack and the Royal Ballad miss cruised gate-to-wire in 1:58.2, besting the mixed group of trotters by one and one-quarter lengths. She will get one final tune up at Durand’s Puslinch farm on Tuesday before she lines up from Post 9 in the fourth race on Friday.

“I think I’ll just train her lightly tomorrow (Tuesday) and just put her in the race,” says the trainer-driver. “I don’t really want to get working her too hard here. It’s late in the year and sometimes they can ride on their age and condition.”

The winner of $201,990 has been the model of consistency this season, earning pay cheques in all nine of her provincial stake appearances, and scoring a 1:57.2 Gold Elimination victory at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Aug. 25. While she demonstrated her ability to get the job done on the front end in her qualifier last week, Durand’s strategy for the past two seasons has been to use the filly’s speed later in the race.

“They pay the purse money for the second time under the wire, not the first time,” says Durand wryly. “I think she could go to the front in any race she wanted, but I don’t think that it’s in her best interests to do that. She’s generally a real game finisher, she’ll give you all she’s got, and it takes less out of her to race her in that fashion.”

Maleficent currently sits third in the point race toward a berth in the season ending Super Final, but it might not be Durand who races her in the Nov. 12 event at Woodbine Racetrack. The filly is entered in the Fall Extravaganza Mixed Sale on Nov. 5 where she is catalogued as Hip Number 222.

“She’s eligible to the Super Final, I think she’s third on the list,” comments Durand. “But she’ll probably have new owners by then.”

Durand would love to deliver the filly to her new owners with two more solid Ontario Sires Stakes finishes under her belt. A top four finish will be required Friday to advance to next week’s $130,000 Gold Final and Durand and Maleficent face a talent laden field in their bid to keep their consistent season intact.

Last season’s Super Final winner, and the recent victor in a Simcoe Stakes division and Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association (SBOA) Stake elimination, Fan Favourite starts from Post 1. Newly minted Grassroots Champion Busta Balls joins the Gold Series for the first time this season from Post 4, division point leaders Erotica and Whatthehecklavec start from Posts 6 and 7, while the Sept. 23 SBOA Final winner Bernie’s Babe gets Post 8.

Post time for Flamboro Downs’s Friday afternoon program is 2:45 pm, and the three-year-old trotting fillies will wage their $52,000 Gold Elimination battles in Races 4 and 6.

For complete entries please go to:

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