TORONTO, ON — Air Stewart’s freshman campaign took flight on Thursday evening at Woodbine Racetrack as the two-year-old trotting colt swept down the stretch to an upset victory in a sharp 1:56.3.
Mario Baillargeon picked up the catch drive on Air Stewart when regular reinsman Randy Waples opted for rival Sim Brown in the $130,000 Gold Final. The Milton, ON resident lined Air Stewart up behind the number two on the Woodbine starting gate and when the wings closed he opted not to get involved in the early speed duel, settling in on the rail in fifth.
From the outer tier of the starting gate Plato, Imperial Count and Buckhams Bay were hard at work early, with Plato reaching the rail first, followed by Imperial Count — who rang up the :13.2 opening eighth — and heavy favourite Buckhams Bay. Driver Steve Condren kept Buckhams Bay parked to Imperial Count’s right through the first turn, but the three-time Gold Final winner and regular reinsman Jacques Hebert took their place on the front just past the :27.3 quarter.
Buckhams Bay continued to lead the field of talented young trotting colts through the :57.1 half, which is when Baillargeon slipped Air Stewart off the rail and into the outer lane. He was quickly followed by Anthony MacDonald with Delcrest Julian and Waples with Sim Brown. Air Stewart was eyeball to eyeball with Buckhams Bay as they swept around the top of the last turn and reached the 1:27.4 three-quarters, and once Baillargeon had the finish wire in his sights he shifted into high gear and Air Stewart exploded down the stretch to a three and one half length victory in 1:56.3.
Buckhams Bay did not have his usual sharp finish and barely held off a hard charging Sim Brown for second. Trainer Jeff Gillis of Hillsburgh, ON and his partners Mac Nichol of Burlington, ON and Gerald Stay of Buffalo, NY, were delighted to see Sim Brown deliver a flawless effort to grab the third-place share of the $130,000 purse.
Thursday’s victory was Air Stewart’s first in 11 outings and almost doubled his freshman earnings to $133,833 for owners Canamerica Capital Corp. and Hyatt Holdings Inc. of Milton, ON and Doug Millard of Woodstock ON. Although he had not found the winner’s circle, the son of Striking Sahbra and Ten Queens had been a consistent player on the provincial circuit posting three seconds and one fourth in five starts heading into Thursday’s Gold Final test. The half-brother to $295,983 winner Heza Challenger has only missed a cheque on two occasions in his freshman career.
Milton, ON resident Ben Wallace trains Air Stewart, who was a $55,000 purchase from last fall’s Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Based on the colt’s early season results, his full brother sold for almost double that amount in Lexington last Friday.
Air Stewart wraps up the Gold Series regular season with a total of 133 points and fourth spot in the division standings. The top 10 point earners will return to Woodbine Racetrack on Nov. 13 for their rich $300,000 season finale, part of the Ontario Sires Stakes program’s $2.4 million Super Final night.
On Friday evening the two-year-old pacing fillies will conclude their Gold Series regular season in Woodbine Racetrack’s fifth race. Post time for the Toronto oval’s first race on Friday is 7:30 pm.
For complete results click: Woodbine Racetrack Results — Oct. 21, 2010