LONDON, ON — When Stonebridge Ideal earned a berth in this Friday’s $130,000 Gold Final at Western Fair Raceway breeder Angie Stiller had a flashback to the three-year-old pacing colt’s first year, when he was fighting his pasture mates for top spot in the herd at her Arva farm.

“What I saw on the track (last) Friday, it does give me goose bumps. It gets my blood flowing at a higher speed,” says Stiller of the colt’s third-place finish in the May 19 elimination. “It makes my mind go back to when he was just a kid, playing in the field with the others and you could see the determination and the toughness and the competitive nature.”

The other cause for Stiller’s accelerated heart rate was the seemingly endless wait while racing officials made the draw between the three third-place finishers to determine which two would advance to the Final. Not only did Stonebridge Ideal land a ticket into Friday’s lucrative Final, he will make his bid for a share of the $130,000 provincial purse from Post 2.

“Post race the three of us, Cal (Stiller), Al (McIntosh) and myself, we sat there waiting for Frank Salive to say the draw, and we were so, so happy,” says the effusive horse woman. “I do hope that (Post 2) translates into a visit in the winner’s circle, that would be so great.”

The son of Camluck and Stiller’s mare Casual Beauty, Stonebridge Ideal sold for $45,000 at the 2004 Forest City Yearling Sale. Shortly after the colt had been hammered down to trainer Bob McIntosh of LaSalle and his cousin Al McIntosh of Leamington, Stiller and her husband Cal approached the McIntosh’s and enquired about the possibility of retaining a share of the young pacer.

“I am, both Cal and I are, very connected to the horses, the babies, that are born in that field, from the moment they come out,” she explains. “I follow them closely, how they interact with other horses, how they fight for the alpha male position. And if there is an athlete, you want to follow their career closely.”

Stonebridge Ideal’s career started last June, but the colt made just one start in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, a sixth-place finish in the last Gold Elimination of the season. That effort signalled the end of the pacer’s freshman campaign, which saw him post a record of one win, two seconds and one third in eight starts and was highlighted by fourth and fifth-place finishes in the Governors Cup elimination and final at Woodbine in mid-October.

“He didn’t race in an impressive manner as a two-year-old,” admits Stiller. “Bob (McIntosh) chose to let him have an easy winter and decided he could use some more weight and he went from looking like a teenager, to looking impressive. I think he looks very promising.”

Heading into last Friday’s elimination, McIntosh sent the colt behind the starting gate four times, in two qualifiers at Windsor Raceway and two overnight events at Woodbine. Stonebridge Ideal quickly indicated the winter hiatus had agreed with him, progressing from a 1:56.3 mile in his first qualifier to a 1:51.1 third-place performance in a non-winners of two races contest at Woodbine on May 8.

With Rick Zeron in the race bike, the colt started from Post 1 in his elimination at Western Fair last week, and spent most of the mile pressing the pace on the outside of Eagle Luck. While Eagle Luck went on to record a 1:54.3 victory, the fastest of three Gold Eliminations, Stonebridge Ideal paid for his long trip around the half-mile oval and faded to third.

“He had one tough trip,” says Stiller. “But I’m impressed. I’m very happy with him. He did not appear to be lacking in talent or ability to race and she showed a lot of heart and courage and stamina.

“I am looking forward to good things,” she adds.

Ron Pierce will pilot Stonebridge Ideal from Post 2 in Friday’s Final, while the colt’s nemesis from the elimination round, Eagle Luck, will start from Post 5 for the second week in a row. The other elimination winners, Champ Of Mischief and Stormaway, will start from Posts 4 and 8.

In addition to catching the three-year-old pacing colt Gold Final in Race 10, fans will also be treated to eliminations for the Molson Pace in Races 1 and 3, featuring some of the most talented aged pacers in the province including last year’s Ontario Sires Stakes heavyweights Astronomical, Lincoln Parke and Banner Yankee. Western Fair Raceway’s star studded Friday evening program gets under way at 7:35 pm.

For complete entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/elonfr.html#N10