GLOUCESTER, ON — Front end tactics resulted in Gold Elimination victories for Andiron Springs and Pizzazzed at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Friday evening.

In the first $49,000 elimination, driver Trevor Ritchie sent Andiron Springs straight to the front from Post 5. The Striking Sahbra son rolled through fractions of :29.2, 1:00.4 and 1:30, maintaining an effortless two length lead on the competition, and sailed under the wire in 2:01.1.

Hit The Mark finished two and one-quarter lengths back in second and Red Star Conman was three and a half lengths to the rear in third. McCarron, owned by David Reid of Glenburnie, Malcolm Man Son Hing of Nepean, David McDonald of Cornwall and A K Malik Stable of Ottawa, finished fourth and Borga Avin won the draw between the fifth-place finishers to earn a return ticket to the Ottawa oval for next Friday’s $130,000 Gold Final.

Tom Artandi trains Andiron Springs for John Swart of Oakton, VA, who acquired the colt at last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale for a modest $15,000 US. Through five starts the young trotter has already earned $46,540, posting three victories including an Aug. 2 Gold Elimination win at Mohawk Racetrack and a July 24 overnight victory at Pocono Downs, PA.

Andiron Springs made a break in his Gold Final debut at Mohawk on Aug. 10 and will be looking to make up for that error from the advantageous Post 1 in next Friday’s $130,000 contest.

In the second elimination, trainer-driver Roger Hammer emulated Ritchie’s front end strategy with Pizzazzed and delivered an almost identical result, hitting the wire in 2:01. Starting from Post 4 Hammer fired Pizzazzed out to a :29.3 opening quarter and then eased up on the accelerator heading by the 1:01 half and 1:31.2 three-quarters. Down the stretch Pizzazzed was forced to pick up the pace when O U Gus mounted a determined challenge, but the pacesetter held on for a half length victory.

O U Gus picked up the runner-up’s share of the $50,149 purse, Morning Man was four lengths back in third and Miguel Duhamel was another length back in fourth.

Hammer trains Pizzazzed, a son of Kadabra and Armbro Adored, for Fox Valley Standardbreds of Sherman, IL. Through six starts the talented youngster has been no worse than second and has banked a total of $94,556. In his July 7 debut he finished second in a division of the W. N. Reynolds Memorial at Pocono Downs, came back one week later to win an overnight at Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland, and seven days after that triumphed in a division of the Tompkins-Geers at Tioga Downs, NY.

After arriving in Ontario in late July, Pizzazzed captured his Aug. 2 Gold Elimination with 1:58.3 personal best and finished second in the Gold Final on Aug. 10. The well-travelled youngster will be looking to maintain his consistent record from Post 2 in the Aug. 24 Gold Final.

The complete line up for the $130,000 Gold Final at Rideau Carleton Raceway next Friday. Aug. 24 is as follows:

Post 1 Andiron Springs

Post 2 Pizzazzed

Post 3 McCarron

Post 4 Hit The Mark

Post 5 Borga Avin

Post 6 O U Gus

Post 7 Red Star Conman

Post 8 Miguel Duhamel

Post 9 Morning Man

Also Eligible 1 Public House

Also Eligible 2 Remarkable Man

Also Eligible 3 Bentley Bob

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rridcffr.html