REXDALE, ON — Boulder Creek delivered a sharp front end performance to log the fastest of three Gold Series Elimination victories on Saturday evening at Woodbine Racetrack.
The Pacific Rocket son and driver Rick Zeron took control of the race just past the :26.1 quarter and then stepped off a :55.1 half and 1:23.1 three-quarters en route to the 1:50.4 triumph over Armbro Acquire and Twin B Dynamic.
“The colt does a lot on his own and makes it look easy for me to drive him. He is a really nice, outstanding colt,” said Zeron after the race. “A mile in 1:50.4 out there is a really good mile for three-year-old colts tonight.”
Bill Budd trains Boulder Creek, the winner of the July 26 Canadian Breeders Championship, for C And I Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. of Brooklyn, NY.
Budd and Siegel, along with Siegel’s partner John Fodera of Staten Island, NY, also celebrated after the first Gold Elimination when Famous Seelster hung up his sixth win of the season with a 1:51.2 effort. The Rustler Hanover colt and Mike Saftic employed their usual come-from-behind style to score the three-quarter length triumph over Make It Brief and Mt Vernon Hanover.
“My ideal trip for him today was if I could come first-up nice and quiet and let him do his own rating,” said Saftic. “He has always got a nice kick for home and that is what happened.”
The other elimination saw Daylon Alert and Steve Condren score a 1:51.4 upset over The Mighty Po Po and Winning Breed, with favourite Sir Luck fading badly to finish eighth.
“I knew there would be a bit of pace in there and I was hoping to get away good enough to be somewhere close and we got lucky,” said Condren. “I knew the two horses on the front, Sir Luck and Winning Breed, were going to be on their game and would carry me as far as I needed to be carried, because I needed some luck that way too. When you are paying thirty-some dollars you are just hoping for the shortest way around.”
Bob Waxman of Ancaster owns Daylon Alert, who was making just his fifth start of the season, and Brett Pelling handles the training duties.
The top three colts from each elimination, plus one of fourth-place finishers HBFS Storm, M U Stradaverius and Jimmy Crack Cohen, will return to Woodbine Racetrack next Saturday, Aug. 9 to take aim on the 1:50.1 Ontario Sires Stakes record in their third Gold Final battle.