WINDSOR, ON — Windsor Raceway fans are in for an outstanding evening of Ontario Sires Stakes action on Saturday as the border oval hosts $130,000 Gold Finals for the two-year-old trotting fillies and pacing fillies.

Both divisions have been laden with talent all season and longtime owner Jerry VanBoekel says, while elimination winner Pure Ivory reminds him a great deal of his former trotting filly standout Elegantimage, his 2005 star is battling a much tougher group of competitors.

“I think she’s really close to Elegantimage,” says VanBoekel of Pure Ivory. “But Elegantimage only had to beat one horse. Now there’s more than one good trotter, there’s quite a few good ones.”

Since making her debut in the Grassroots program on July 12, Pure Ivory has captured two Gold Eliminations and finished second by a nose in a Gold Final. The Striking Sahbra daughter also posted victories in divisions of the Trillium Series, the Robert Stewart and Champlain Stakes and an elimination of the Oakville Stakes. Through her first seven starts she was virtually unbeatable, but breaks in the Oakville Final and the Sept. 25 Gold Elimination convinced trainer Brad Maxwell to give the filly a brief rest before gearing her up for the last Gold event and the Nov. 12 Super Final.

Pure Ivory prepped for her late season campaign with a victory in an Oct. 21 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack and then posted a solid 1:58.3 victory in last weekend’s elimination.

“I’m not going to say we’re the best, but close to it,” says VanBoekel, who shares ownership on the winner of $176,288 with driver Steve Condren of Milton, breeder Harry Rutherford of Mount Pleasant and Christina Maxwell of Ayr. “I believe if she has the right post she’s pretty hard to beat.”

Pure Ivory and Condren will start from Post 5 in Saturday’s eighth race and VanBoekel says the filly is in top shape heading into the $130,000 contest.

“(Brad) Maxwell says she’s better now than she’s ever been,” says the Bright resident. “That’s what Mr. Maxwell says, so I’ll go along with that.”

Like Pure Ivory’s connections, trainer John Pentland is also hoping his two-year-old pacing fillies are rounding into peak form just in time for Saturday’s Gold Final and the $300,000 Super Final. Pentland will start Bold Bidder and Even Now in the tenth race and the London resident could not be happier with the pair’s post position draw.

“Post position means a great deal and that puts both fillies into the race,” says the horseman of Bold Bidder’s Post 1 and Even Now’s Post 5. “I’m pretty sure neither of those fillies are going to win from the nine-hole, so it just worked out perfect, and I couldn’t be happier with both drivers.”

“Mr. OSS” Dave Wall will steer Bold Bidder Saturday and, after capturing both pacing filly eliminations last week, Steve Condren selected Even Now over To Helen Back. Condren has driven the Rustler Hanover daughter since her runner-up finish in the Sept. 30 Gold Final at Mohawk Racetrack and Pentland says the veteran reinsman is a crucial part of her recent success.

“It took Steve Condren to get her that second in that Gold Final. He’s just so patient,” explains Pentland, who trains Even Now for his wife Natalie Pentland and CJS Stables Inc. of London. “Even with Steve Condren driving her she is fairly aggressive.”

Even Now did not start out the season as an aggressive contender for a Gold Final title. Through her first five starts she did not finish better than fifth and did not really impress Pentland. However, a 1:55.3 scorcher around Flamboro Downs’ half-mile oval on Sept. 9 demonstrated the filly’s talent and made Pentland a believer.

“She surprised me at Flamboro,” admits the trainer. “I guess she was very talented all along, but once she was driven more aggressively — Mark (MacDonald) really sent her at Flamboro — it was a bit of a wake up call for her.”

Since her Flamboro victory, Even Now has been no worse than third and recorded her first Gold Series victory last weekend with a nose decision in 1:55.2.

While Even Now’s star was slow to rise, stablemate Bold Bidder made her mark on the Ontario Sires Stakes scene early, capturing the July 7 Gold Final at Flamboro Downs. Unfortunately the Grinfromeartoear daughter has struggled to match her early success, running into bad luck on the post position front and then suffering a slight injury during a mini-vacation from the races in August.

“She drew horrible for about a series of four or five starts,” recalls Pentland, who trains the filly for Karen Carroll of Shedden. “And then after the Robert Stewart (Aug. 15) Wayne (Carroll) took her home to his place and she ended up getting cast.”

In an effort to help the filly deal with the stiffness resulting from getting cast, or stuck, in her stall Pentland turned to swimming, but Bold Bidder’s bad luck continued when she developed a rash from the pool and was forced to miss the Oct. 23 Trillium event.

“The rash developed bad enough that she ended up tying up before the Trillium at Flamboro. We were going to use it as a prep for this Gold,” says Pentland. “So she had no work into her at all for about five weeks.

“I kind of asked Dave (Wall) to see if he could sneak in and get a cheque, but she paced a big mile. I know she was just third, but to see her pass a bunch in the lane like she did was a pleasant surprise.”

Bold Bidder and Even Now will face off against their peers in Race 10 on Windsor Raceway’s Saturday evening program, which gets under way at 7 pm.

For complete entries please go to:

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