ELORA, ON — Grand River Raceway fans will be lined up at the rails on Monday evening to catch a glimpse of World Record holder Luck Of Michelle as the two-year-old pacing filly makes her Ontario Sires Stakes debut in the first of four Gold Eliminations.

The Camluck miss etched her name into the history books last weekend at Flamboro Downs when she blazed around the Dundas oval to a 1:53.3 victory, three-fifths of a second faster than the former world mark held by Aries Conquest (2003 at Maywood Park) and Thereal Ideal (2004 at Delaware).

“I thought she could pace a mile in 1:56 or 1:57, which was probably going to win the race, but any logical person would never expect that,” says the filly’s trainer John Pentland. “That was way beyond any expectations.”

With Mike Saftic in the race bike Luck Of Michelle shot away from Post 1 to a :27.2 opening quarter and maintained her momentum through a :55.3 half and 1:24.4 three-quarters before rocking home to the 13 length win that left onlookers cleaning their glasses before taking a second look at the teletimer.

“Mike said she was well in hand,” says Pentland. “He asked her at the three-quarter pole to pace on because she got a little lazy. He pulled the plugs and tapped her with the whip and she took right off. I just got the picture today and you can see him with a really good hold on her.”

Saftic and Pentland had reason to expect the filly would be a contender in the Flamboro Breeders event after she cruised to effortless wins in qualifying action at Mohawk Racetrack on June 3 and June 10. In fact, Pentland says he thought she might be a star soon after she arrived in his barn from the Harrisburg Yearling Sale where he and Shedden resident Wayne Carroll split her $20,000 US purchase price.

“She had something,” says the Dorchester resident, who trains the filly for his wife Natalie and Karen Carroll. “She would have trained herself down.”

Luck Of Michelle will be looking to recapture her record setting magic from Post 5 in the first race at Grand River on Monday, where 1:53.3 would be an all age track record and a comparatively sedate 1:59 would do the job in the two-year-old pacing filly category.

Among the fillies hoping to mount a challenge against the World Record holder is Stonebridge Memory, one of three hopefuls Guelph resident Gregg McNair will harness in Monday’s Gold Series season opener.

Stonebridge Memory heads into the contest off a third-place finish in a June 26 overnight event at Grand River, and McNair hopes that the Camluck daughter’s knowledge of the Elora oval will stand her in good stead.

“She’s pretty familiar with the track,” says McNair, who trains Stonebridge Memory for North South Partners of Atlanta, GA. “Her and the other mare, Real Beauty, trained there a few times.”

Real Beauty carries the McNair stable’s hopes from Post 5 in the second race, and like Luck Of Michelle, she heads into the $28,245 elimination off a Flamboro Breeders victory engineered by Mike Saftic. Another daughter of Camluck, Real Beauty closed hard at Flamboro on June 24 to claim a quarter length decision in 1:58.1 for owner and breeder James Avritt of Lebanon, KY.

“She had a lot of pace at the end,” notes McNair. “She didn’t win by much, but she was going by them.”

While he sticks with Luck Of Michelle in the first elimination, Saftic will pilot both Real Beauty and McNair’s third entry, Canadette. Canadette also captured a Flamboro Breeders division, pacing to a hard fought 1:56.2 decision for owner-breeder Robert B. Chapple of Chatham.

The Mach Three daughter is the second foal of former Ontario Sires Stakes star Legacy Of Fame, who earned $861,061 under McNair’s tutelage. She and Saftic will make their bid for a second straight victory from Post 6 in the fourth race.

In addition to Races 1, 2, and 4, the freshman pacing fillies will also square off in Race 7 on Grand River Raceway’s Monday evening program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm. The top two finishers from each elimination will earn a return trip to the Elora oval on Monday, July 10 for the first $130,000 Gold Final of their careers.

For complete entries please go to:

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