FRASERVILLE, ON — With two colts withdrawing from Thursday’s Gold Final due to sickness, both freshman trotters on the also eligible list lined up behind the Kawartha Downs starting gate in the sixth race to take their shot at $130,000.
White Viking replaced Tymal Oh So Nice at Post 2, while Good Sound Advice inherited Post 4 from The Game Plan. Kawartha Downs fans did not regard either colt as a serious threat, sending them off as the eighth and fifth choices on the board, respectively.
Fortunately for owners Bill and Cody James of Blackstock and Peter Evans of Wilberforce, Good Sound Advice did not heed the fans’ opinion of his chances and less than two minutes later they were hoisting a Gold Final trophy in the winner’s circle.
With Reg Gassien aboard, Good Sound Advice stepped smartly away from the starting gate, reaching the quarter pole in :28.1. Gassien then yielded to heavy favourite Prized Fighter, who led the field to a :58.3 half. Prized Fighter was still on top at the 1:28.1 three-quarters, but the elimination winner was under heavy pressure from Summer Indian and a line of colts rolling up the outside in his wake.
Summer Indian trotted around the corner with a one length lead, but when Prized Fighter went off-stride, Gassien found himself with room to maneuver and shifted Good Sound Advice into high gear. The colt sprinted down the stretch, holding off a charging Heres The Magic, to claim a three-quarter length victory in 1:58.1. Summer Indian, owned by trainer John Bax’s Parkhill Stud Farm of Peterborough, John Hayes of Sharon and John Houston of Cobourg, wrapped up the third-place finisher’s share of the $130,000 Gold Final purse.
The win was a first for Good Sound Advice, who finished fourth in last week’s Gold Elimination, seven and three-quarter lengths behind Prized Fighter. Prior to making his provincial debut, the son of Kadabra and Good As Your Word qualified once at Kawartha, trotting around the Fraserville oval in 2:06 on June 18, and once at Mohawk Racetrack, reaching the wire in 2:04.3 on June 25. Lindsay resident Gassien was at the helm for all of the colt’s Kawartha appearances.
Bill James also trains Good Sound Advice, and plucked the full brother to $173,976 winner Good Common Cents out of last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale for just $7,000. In just two starts the young trotter has earned $68,200.
Good Sound Advice will have an opportunity to defend his Gold Final title at Mohawk Racetrack on July 21, when the freshman trotting colts match wits in the second Gold Series event of their season.
Ontario Sires Stakes excitement continues at Kawartha Downs on Saturday, July 23 when the Fraserville oval welcomes the two-year-old trotting fillies for their second Grassroots test.
For complete results please go to: Kawartha Downs Results — July 14, 2011