ELORA, ON — Acton resident Trevor Ritchie is counting his lucky stars this evening that the finish line at Grand River Raceway came sooner, rather than later.

The veteran reinsman was aboard fan favourite Sooner Than Later in the two-year-old trotting filly Gold Final at the Elora oval on Monday, and had been sailing along with a comfortable lead through fractions of :29, 1:00.1 and 1:30.2 when things got a little heated. On top by a length and one-quarter as they turned for home, Sooner Than Later and Ritchie were suddenly facing an onslaught of fillies from the back field.

Starting from the second tier in the 10 filly race, Random Destiny and Riina Rekila had clawed their way around horses until they had Sooner Than Later and Ritchie in their sights. Also taking careful aim on the leaders was Ruling Class and driver Stephen Byron, who had been stalking them from the pocket throughout the race.

In an outstanding display for a group of novice trotting fillies, the trio pounded down the Grand River stretch to a finish that required a magnifying glass to comprehend. Once the dust settled Sooner Than Later held on to the victory by a scant neck, with Random Destiny taking second, a hair in front of Ruling Class. Less than two lengths separated the top six finishers in the 2:00.4 mile, equalling the track record set by Wilsonator in last week’s elimination round.

Ritchie eked out the victory for trainer Doug McIntosh of Wheatley and his partner William Weaver III of Freehold, NJ. The filly is a Striking Sahbra daughter from McIntosh and Weaver’s unraced Balanced Image mare New Image Soon, and has been impressive since her earliest efforts.

On June 22, McIntosh shipped the filly to Mohawk Racetrack for a qualifier. Sooner Than Later responded with a 2:04.2 victory, complete with a :28.4 last quarter. In a second qualifier, on June 29 at Mohawk, the filly rolled around the seven-eighths mile oval to a 2:03 clocking.

Making her career debut in the Robert Stewart Stakes at Mohawk on July 5, Sooner Than Later finished a strong second to Exquisitelycrafted in the 1:59.1 mile. In last week’s Gold Elimination, Sooner Than Later romped home a five length winner in 2:02.3.

Ritchie has piloted the filly in all of her appearances, and Grand River fans put their faith in the trotting specialist on Monday night, sending Sooner Than Later off as their top choice, ahead of Wilsonator.

The pair will have their first opportunity to defend their Gold Final title on Aug. 3, when the two-year-old trotting fillies make the second stop on their Ontario Sires Stakes tour at Mohawk Racetrack.

Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Grand River Raceway on Tuesday, Aug. 25 when the outstanding three-year-old pacing colts arrive in Elora for their fourth Gold Series event.

For complete results please go to: http://standardbredcanada.ca/racing/results/data/r0720grvrn.dat.