OTTAWA, ON — After coming oh so close in her last Gold Series start, Oh Sweet Baby finally found her way to the winner’s circle in the first two-year-old trotting filly Gold Elimination at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Friday evening.
Starting from Post 3, regular reinsman Mario Baillargeon moved Oh Sweet Baby sharply off the starting gate and took control of the race well before the :29.2 quarter. The filly rolled on through a :59.4 half and a 1:28.4 three-quarters with a comfortable lead, which she had extended to four and one-half lengths by the time she reached the finish, halting the Rideau Carleton teletimer at 1:59.2.
Haphazard Gourmet circled out three wide at the three-quarters and sprinted down the stretch to earn the runner-up’s share of the $40,000 Gold Elimination purse and Tropical Breeze AS found late racing room to claim third. Fourth and fifth-place finishers Scorpius and South Bay also advanced to next Friday’s $130,000 Gold Final.
Benoit Baillargeon trains Oh Sweet Baby for Richard Berthiaume of Pointe-Aux-Trembles, QC, who acquired the daughter of Angus Hall from last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale for $35,000. After the filly struggled through her first two Gold Series appearances Baillargeon added a pair of trotting hopples to her kit bag and through her last five starts Oh Sweet Baby has delivered one impressive result after another.
Friday’s victory boosted the filly’s record to one win, two seconds, one third and $61,030 in eight starts, and launched her up the division standings into sixth place with a total of 87 Gold Series points. The top 10 point earners at the end of the regular season square off in the $300,000 Super Final at Woodbine Racetrack on Nov. 13.
The second $40,000 Gold Elimination also went to a filly who seemed destined to be an eternal bridesmaid, with six second-place finishes to her credit through nine starts. My Whispering Eye wrestled control of the fourth race away from Pretty Crafty heading for the three-quarters and sailed home a one and one-half length victor in 1:58.4.
Two-time Gold Final winner, and fan favourite, Extraordinaire settled for second and early pacesetter Pretty Crafty stayed game for third. Quantum Victoria was elevated from fifth to fourth when Harlow Seelster failed to lose ground while on a break late in the mile and will also return for next week’s Gold Final skirmish.
Anthony MacDonald engineered My Whispering Eye’s first victory for his brother, trainer James MacDonald, and owner Terry Hunter of Troy, ON. The win boosted the Here Comes Herbie daughter’s lifetime earnings to $92,200, a pretty impressive return on the $6,000 Hunter anted up to acquire the filly at last fall’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale.
My Whispering Eye will attempt to add a Gold Final title to her resume from Post 5 next Friday, Oct. 1, while Oh Sweet Baby gets the trailing Post 9. The complete line up for the $130,000 Gold Final is as follows:
$130,000 Gold Series Final — Friday, Oct. 1 at Rideau Carleton Raceway
Post 1 Pretty Crafty
Post 2 Haphazard Gourmet
Post 3 Tropical Breeze AS
Post 4 Quantum Victoria
Post 5 My Whispering Eye
Post 6 Scorpius
Post 7 South Bay
Post 8 Extraordinaire
Post 9 Oh Sweet Baby
For complete results click: Rideau Carleton Raceway Results — Sept. 24, 2010