CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Before Friday night’s Ontario Sires Stakes event at Mohawk Racetrack trainer Bill Budd said fans should discount Boulder Creek’s fifth-place finish in his last start and expect an improved performance from Post 5 in the Gold Series Elimination. Four days later the Pacific Rocket son proved Budd 100 per cent correct with an impressive upset over his more famous stablemate Sir Luck.

As Budd suggested driver Rick Zeron allowed two-year-old pacing colt Boulder Creek to float off the starting gate and come down onto the rail through the first turn, six lengths behind early leader Au Rumba. Through the :26.4 opening quarter and the :55.4 half Zeron sat patiently on the rail, looking for an opportunity to make a move up the outside.

As the colts passed the 1:25 three-quarters Zeron had Boulder Creek driving for the lead up the outside and Sir Luck and Mt Vernon Hanover, the fans’ first and second choices, were trying to beat him to it with bold three-wide moves. At the top of the stretch Boulder Creek and Sir Luck were shoulder to shoulder at the front of the field, but less than 15 seconds later it was Boulder Creek flashing under the wire one and half lengths on top in 1:52.4. Sir Luck earned the second-place finisher’s share of the $120,271 purse and Mt Vernon Hanover stayed game for third.

The win was Boulder Creek’s second and his first in Gold Series competition, and it boosted him into second spot in the division standings with 132 points.

Cliff Siegel’s C and I Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. owns both Boulder Creek and Sir Luck, giving the Brooklyn, NY resident a $90,202 payday.

Fans who opted for Boulder Creek over Sir Luck recorded a $19.90 return on a win ticket, $4.90 to show and $3.00 to place. Sir Luck’s runner-up effort was worth $2.50 to place and $2.10 to show and Mt Vernon Hanover paid $2.60 to show. The Bill Budd trainee exactor returned $55.30 and adding Mt Vernon Hanover to the triactor ticket gave fans a $148.80 pay out, but the biggest bang for your buck came in the Superfecta, which added fourth-place finisher and long shot Killer Rabbit to the pool and returned $1,058.85.

Only one colt was eliminated from Friday’s battle, Pinstripe Poker, who started from the trailing Post 11 and finished eleventh in his second Gold Elimination start. The other 10 colts will return to Mohawk Racetrack on Oct. 4 for their second last $130,000 Gold Series Final.