DUNDAS, ON — Last fall Vaughn Marshall stuck his hand in the air at the Canadian Open Yearling Sale and came home with a $1,700 purchase named Fabtowin. Heading into the Gold Series season opener for two-year-old trotting fillies this Saturday at Flamboro Downs, the Campbellville resident has already recouped his investment, plus a winter’s worth of training fees.

“We went and looked at Fabtowin — her mother had been in the Grassroots and it was her first foal — but I thought she’d go for too much,” recalls Marshall. “Then we were sitting in the grandstand at the sale and they couldn’t get a bid for $1,200 so I put my hand up, and right now I’m happy I did.”

Marshall’s satisfaction stems from Fabtowin’s impressive victory in a $24,000 Trillium Series event at Sudbury Downs on June 24. The daughter of CR Renegade and Sumriley cruised around the Sudbury oval on the front end and held on for a quarter length decision in 2:06.3, a full second faster than any of the other divisions. In addition, the filly’s stablemate Suds In The Bucket finished fourth in her Trillium Series division, making a tidy deposit against her $2,700 purchase price.

On Saturday at Flamboro Downs, Suds In The Bucket will make her Gold Series debut in Race 6, starting from Post 6 for the second straight week, and Fabtowin will start from Post 2 in the ninth race.

“It looks like we might have some fun,” says Marshall, who shares ownership on the fillies with his son Mark. “With that post of Fabtowin’s, she’ll be all right and the other one, if she gets a break, a little racing luck, she could be all right too. It’s a little tighter there at Flamboro and it would take a lot to knock her off her feet. She’s more stable than Fabtowin.”

David Frey trains the fillies and says it was quickly apparent that Marshall’s impulse buy had been a sound investment.

“They were both excellent. They gaited well, trained down good and never gave me any trouble,” says Frey. “But from the day I broke her I knew Fabtowin was the better of the two. She was always stronger. She looks more like a colt than a filly.

“Whether she has enough speed to go with them all season, time will tell,” adds the Milton resident. “But at least we’ve had some fun already.”

“We’re just taking one race at a time,” agrees Marshall. “I don’t think we’ll sell either one, we’ll just have some fun with them.”

The fun begins at Flamboro Downs at 4 pm on Saturday and the two-year-old trotting fillies will help fans celebrate Canada Day in Races 2, 6, and 9. The top three finishers from each elimination will return to the Dundas oval on Saturday, July 8 for their first $130,000 Gold Final.

For complete entries please go to:

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