GLOUCESTER, ON — Pepi Lavec continued to roll through the three-year-old trotting filly Gold division with an effortless 1:59 victory over the Rideau Carleton Raceway oval on Thursday evening.
The Mr Lavec daughter and driver Paul MacDonell fired out of Post 6 and trotted through fractions of :29.1, :59.2 and 1:29.1 en route to the victory, their fourth in Gold Elimination action. Trainer John Bax scored a one-two finish when Natashas Kiss edged out Early Secret to be second in the $102,628 contest.
Peterborough resident Bax owns Pepi Lavec in partnership with Glengate Farms of Campbellville and the partners have banked $434,231 on her behalf this season. In 18 starts the gifted trotter has a record of seven wins, three seconds and two thirds and sports a personal best of 1:56, a track and Ontario Sires Stakes record she set winning a Gold event at Hiawatha Horse Park.
Natashas Kiss, owned by Al Libfeld of Pickering and Marvin Katz and Sam Goldband of Toronto, looks to be rounding into the late season form that earned her the Gold Series Super Final title at two. The Balanced Image lass struggled earlier in the year, but has put together a string of solid efforts in the last two months. Her runner-up effort moved her up the division standings to fourth spot with 113 points.
Ultra consistent Early Secret delivered another solid effort to boost her top three finishes to 13 in 16 starts. The Earl daughter is trained by Paul Walker for breeder William Loyens of London and Malcolm MacPhail of Dover Centre.
Rideau Carleton fans did an exceptional job handicapping the Gold Elimination selecting the top three finishers as their first, second and third choices. Pepi Lavec returned a modest $3.30 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.60 to show. Natashas Kiss paid $3.30 to place and $2.20 to show and Early Secret’s third-place effort was worth $2.50 to her fans. The exactor returned $18.40 and the triactor was worth $38.80.
Local filly Terra Cotta Bye finished the mile ten lengths back in seventh place and earned a ticket into the $130,000 Gold Final. The top nine finishers are eligible to return to Rideau Carleton Raceway on Nov. 7 for the last Gold Final event of their season.