DUNDAS, ON — Flamboro Downs features two days of outstanding Ontario Sires Stakes action this weekend, opening on Saturday afternoon with the three-year-old pacing filly Gold Final and three-year-old trotting colt Gold Eliminations, and following up with Gold Eliminations for the two-year-old trotting and pacing colts on Sunday evening.

In Saturday’s $130,000 Gold Final, sophomore pacing filly Draconian Promise will be looking for a second straight victory over her local oval after posting a 1:54.3 triumph in the elimination round.

“She seems as good now as she ever was,” says David McGinnis, who works alongside his son, trainer Jason McGinnis. “She gets around a half quite well. Her owner says she gets around a half better this year than she did last year.”

Cully Keetch and Lawrence Simon of Hamilton share ownership on Draconian Promise, who was also a Gold Elimination winner at Flamboro Downs in a two-year-old season that saw her post three wins and earn $97,086 in 14 starts. This season the Rustler Hanover daughter got off to a slow start, failing to make the Final of the first two Gold Series events, but she has picked things up in recent weeks.

Through her last six starts the filly has missed the top two just once, and McGinnis says tests following a fifth-place finish in the Canadian Breeders Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack on July 21 gave Draconian Promise a solid excuse for her lacklustre performance.

“We scoped her after and she had a lot of mucous in her, she was quite sick,” he explains. “We gave her the next week off and treated her up and scoped her before her race last week. She scoped good and clear and seems good and healthy.

“All she needs now is a little bit of luck,” adds the Ancaster resident. “You know the old saying, I’d rather be lucky than good.”

Draconian Promise and driver Don Rankin, Jr. will start from Post 6 in Saturday’s Final, and while less than ideal, her connections are not losing any sleep worrying about it.

“I don’t think that will hurt her any,” says McGinnis. “If she can get away in the top four she should be okay. There should be a lot of early speed in there and as long as she doesn’t get too close she should be all right.”

The other elimination winners Bold Bidder and Don’t You Smile will start from Draconian Promise’s left at Posts 3 and 9 respectively.

While the three-year-old pacing fillies gear up for Race 7, their trotting colt peers will begin battle in Race 2, which features Canadian Breeders champion Majestic Son from Post 3 and reigning Gold Final winner Colonel Talbot from Post 6.

While most of the colts competing in the three Gold Eliminations are veterans of the Ontario Sires Stakes scene, there are a few new faces making their debut at Flamboro on Saturday, including Investor from Post 4 in the fourth race.

Bred and owned by Chris Christoforou, Sr. of Campbellville and Banjo Farms of Toronto, Investor has been the kind of horse that breaks owners’ hearts.

“He was a beautiful colt training last year. He was like making dreams for his trainer and owners,” explains Christoforou. “I trained him in 2:05 early, even before the baby races started.

“Then he got a cut on his hind right ankle and every time he moved he opened it up,” recalls the horseman. “He took a long time to recover.”

After recuperating from the ankle injury, Investor finally qualified early last October and then delivered an impressive runner-up finish against older company in a non-winners of two races contest at Flamboro. Unfortunately disaster struck the colt again the morning after his race.

“He was turned out in the paddock and he rolls and gets stuck under the boards, and he injures himself again,” says Christoforou. “So I stopped with him again and sent him to Florida.”

After getting back into racing shape in the sunny south, Investor returned home and delivered a solid 2:00.3 effort in a June 26 qualifier. Christoforou went on vacation thinking all was well, but upon arriving home found that the colt had been sick the whole time he was away.

“He qualified about six weeks ago and after that I gave him to Tony Montini,” he recalls. “I went to Europe for a couple weeks and when I came back he still hadn’t raced.”

Investor finally made his sophomore debut on Aug. 3 at Mohawk Racetrack, where he finished a creditable second from Post 9 over a sloppy track rated two seconds slower than normal.

“He raced very good last week,” says Christoforou. “I don’t know how he will be (Saturday). I figured he needed another race before he went in the Gold, but he’s a three-year-old, so let’s try him.”

Post time for Flamboro Downs’ talent laden program on Saturday is 4 pm, with the trotting colts competing in Races 2, 4, and 9 and the pacing fillies battling for their fourth Gold Final title in Race 7.

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