REXDALE, ON — Woodbine Racetrack fans got a sneak preview of what will be an outstanding Gold Final, as the three-year-old pacing colts delivered a pair of exciting races in elimination action Friday evening.

Reigning Gold Final champion Astronomical proved he has lost none of his power over the last five weeks as he hung on for a gritty win in the second Gold Elimination. From Post 6 driver Mark MacDonald sent the Astreos son directly to the front and Astronomical carved out fractions of :26.4, :56.1 and 1:24.2 while maintaining a one and a half length margin over his peers.

After using Astronomical as a wind break throughout the mile, Lincoln Parke stepped out in the stretch and put the pressure on the pacesetter, but Astronomical dug in to score the neck victory in 1:51.2. Lincoln Parke, owned by Carl Jamieson of Princeton, Karl Ungerman of Toronto, George Arthur Stable of Milton and Bradley McDonald of Beamsville, made do with the runner-up share and Extreme Three crossed the wire two lengths back in third.

Fourth and fifth-place finishers Almost Gunned Down, owned by Jeffrey Gillis of Guelph and Bert Smith of Brampton, and Noble Jake, owned by Banjo Farms of Toronto and Charalambos Christoforou of Campbellville, also advanced to the Oct. 29 Gold Final.

The victory was Astronomical’s tenth of the season and extended his streak of winning efforts to five. Dr. Ian Moore of Campbellville trains the winner of $515,166 for his partners William Shearer of Bedford, NS and R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, NB and will send him out for next week’s $130,000 Final from Post 1.

Big Bonus captured the other Gold Elimination with a sharp come-from-behind effort that earned him the three-quarter length victory in 1:51. Starting from Post 8 with Steve Condren in the race bike, the Bo Knows Jate son sat fourth through the early stages of the race, slid to the outside heading past the three-quarter marker and had assumed control of the race by the time the colts turned for home.

Isle Of Patmos mounted a challenge down the stretch, but had to settle for the second-place finisher’s spoils, while Putnam Romeo was three lengths back in third. Zooka, owned by Ben Wallace of Milton and James Millier of Dorchester, finished fourth and Silent Swing also advanced to the Gold Final with his fifth-place effort.

Trained by Jason Libby for William Dorssers of Blenheim, Big Bonus jumped up the division standings with the win, moving into fifth spot with 115 points and locking up a berth in the Nov. 12 Super Finals at Woodbine Racetrack. Friday’s triumph boosted the gelding’s record to four wins, three seconds and one fourth in 19 starts, for earnings of $139,723 this season.

Big Bonus will line up right beside Astronomical from Post 2 in next Saturday’s $130,000 Final. The complete list of post positions for the Oct. 29 battle is as follows:

Post 1 Astronomical

Post 2 Big Bonus

Post 3 Lincoln Parke

Post 4 Noble Jake

Post 5 Almost Gunned Down

Post 6 Isle Of Patmos

Post 7 Extreme Three

Post 8 Silent Swing

Post 9 Putnam Romeo

Post 10 Zooka

AE1 Loverboy Hanover

AE2 Back It Up

AE3 Blue Burner

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rwdbsfr.html