CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — The weather may have been dreary at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday night, but it did not dampen the excitement that greeted Arriba Amigo and Grumpy Jake when they arrived in the winner’s circle off unpredicted victories in their respective Gold Eliminations.

Arriba Amigo kicked off the Monday evening card with a come from behind victory over the rain-soaked track, which was rated two seconds slower than normal. Starting from Post 4, driver Trevor Ritchie eased Arriba Amigo away from the starting gate and settled him on the rail in sixth. Windsong Geant handled the early speed, reaching the opening eighth in :13.2 and the quarter in :27.3. Scotty Doesnt Know stepped lightly to the front past the quarter, but had handed things off to Go Go Red Marty before the :56.4 halfway clocking.

At the front of a parade of colts from the backfield, Go Go Red Marty was overtaken by Lexis Noah before the 1:27.1 three-quarters, and once the field reached the top of the stretch they swung out across the race track. Acton, ON resident Ritchie had Arriba Amigo rolling from sixth on the outside and the Amigo Hall gelding simply sprinted by his peers to a one and one-quarter length victory in 1:56.3.

Early leader Windsong Geant stayed game for second, while Lexis Noah hung on for third. Fourth and fifth-place finishers Windsun Galaxie and Scotty Doesnt Know also advanced to next Monday’s $130,000 Gold Final. Fan favourite Dontgetinhisway was never a factor, finishing sixth.

Monday’s victory was Arriba Amigo’s second Gold Elimination win this season. The Blair Burgess trainee also took home an elimination trophy from Georgian Downs on July 3. Burgess trains the winner of $115,963 for his father Robert Burgess of Campbellville, ON, wife Karin Olsson Burgess of Milton, ON, Champagne Stables of Toronto, ON and the lucky Mac Nichol of Burlington, ON.

Arriba Amigo’s win marked the third straight time Nichol’s horses had prevailed in Gold Series action at Mohawk recently. On Saturday night Nichol-owned horses Monkey On My Wheel and Mystician captured the two-year-old pacing filly and pacing colt Gold Finals at the Campbellville oval.

Grumpy Jake was greeted even more joyfully by trainer Michael Guitard and owners Haryott Stables Inc. of Etobicoke, ON, as the Striking Sahbra gelding finally found his way to the winner’s circle in his fourteenth sophomore start. Milton, ON resident Steve Condren engineered the ideal trip for Grumpy Jake, stalking fan favourite Text Me from the start and then squeezing out a hole in the stretch to get up for a three-quarter length win in 1:57.

Text Me led the field through the earliest stations, ringing up a :13.1 eighth and a :28 quarter before yielding to Prot�g� Seelster, who proceeded to wheel through a :58 half and 1:27.4 three-quarters. Text Me resumed command around the final turn, but when Prot�g� Seelster started to falter on the rail, Grumpy Jake exploded out from behind Text Me and trotted home to the win.

Text Me finished second, with Oh No Three O one more length back in third. Hidden Message was fourth and Zorgwijk Kingpin rounded out the qualifiers for next week’s $130,000 Gold Final.

Grumpy Jake’s last Gold Series start was in the July 3 Gold Eliminations at Georgian Downs. Prior to Monday’s win the gelding had only amassed two seconds and two thirds through 13 starts, adding just $32,160 to the $184,719 he earned as a two-year-old. The win also boosted Grumpy Jake up the division point standings and puts him in a position to earn a berth in the $300,000 Super Final at Woodbine Racetrack on Nov. 13.

Next week Grumpy Jake will be in a better position than Arriba Amigo to earn more points, as he will start from Post 4, while Arriba Amigo is handicapped by the outside Post 10. The complete line up for the Monday, Oct. 4 Gold Final is as follows:

$130,000 Gold Series Final — Monday, Oct. 4 at Mohawk Racetrack

Post 1 Hidden Message

Post 2 Windsun Galaxie

Post 3 Zorgwijk Kingpin

Post 4 Grumpy Jake

Post 5 Text Me

Post 6 Lexis Noah

Post 7 Windsong Geant

Post 8 Scotty Doesnt Know

Post 9 Oh No Three O

Post 10 Arriba Amigo

For complete results please go to: Mohawk Racetrack Results — Sept. 27, 2010