SARNIA, ON — Hiawatha Horse Park fans got their first look at this season’s three-year-old trotting filly crop on Thursday evening and liked what they saw from the veterans of the Ontario Sires Stakes program.

A three-time Gold Final winner at two, Birminghim demonstrated that she has bounced right back to the top of her game with a 1:59.3 victory in the first of two $50,000 Gold Eliminations.

The Striking Sahbra daughter and driver Trevor Ritchie sat third throughout the mile while Lisas Mission, another Gold Final winner from last season, powered through fractions of :28, :59 and 1:28.4. Heading into the stretch Ritchie sent Birminghim after the lead and the filly easily disposed of the leader, fended off the other challengers and sailed home to a half length victory for trainer Harald Lunde and owner Torkil Pedersen of Trondheim, Norway.

Pocket sitter Oaklea Omega earned the runner-up share of the Ontario Sires Stakes prize and Geisha Hall closed smartly to earn third-place honours. Lisas Mission settled for fourth and fifth-place finisher Exquisite Way also advanced to the May 25 Gold Final by luck of the draw.

Hiawatha fans had wisely selected Birminghim as their top choice and the filly returned $4.80 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.90 to show. Fourth choice Oaklea Omega delivered a $3.00 place pay out and a $2.80 show ticket, while fifth choice Geisha Hall paid $4.10 for her third-place effort. The 2 – 6 exactor returned $15.40 and the triactor paid $63.60.

Two races later the favourite again came up trumps, as Oaklea Odessa and Dave Wall opted for a front end strategy to log their half length win in 1:59.1. Porsche Hall, trained and driven by Sarnia resident Terry Kerr, overcame the outside post to finish second and Holyrood was a solid third. Womanly Image endured a trip around the outside to secure the last spot in next week’s $130,000 Gold Final.

A recent 1:56 winner at Woodbine Racetrack, Oaklea Odessa is undefeated through three starts this season. The Balanced Image miss is trained by John Bax for his Parkhill Stud Farm in Peterborough, Ariel Stables of North York and Glenn Van Camp of Port Perry.

Oaklea Odessa returned $4.20, $3.10 and $2.80 with her elimination triumph, local favourite Porsche Hall’s runner-up effort was worth $4.80 and $2.80 and Holyrood returned $3.40 to show. The exactor delivered $6.60 and the triactor paid $43.20.

Post positions for the May 25 Gold Final are as follows:

Post 1 Geisha Hall

Post 2 Oaklea Omega

Post 3 Oaklea Odessa

Post 4 Lisas Mission

Post 5 Birminghim

Post 6 Womanly Image

Post 7 Exquisite Way

Post 8 Holyrood

Post 9 Porsche Hall

AE1 Highnmighty

AE2 Fin De Maye

Complete results are available at:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rsarfth.html#N5