DUNDAS, ON — Just two weeks after she claimed the three-year-old trotting filly Grassroots Championship by a neck, Busta Balls wrote the final chapter in her Cinderella story by capturing Friday’s $130,000 Gold Final at her hometown oval, Flamboro Downs.

In spite of starting from Post 1, Busta Balls and driver Scott Coulter ended up near the back of the pack when favourite Whatthehecklavec rocketed off the gate to a :27.4 opening quarter. Heading for the :58.2 halfway marker, Coulter sent Busta Balls up the outside and the filly began to make up ground on the leaders. By the 1:27.3 three-quarters the Must B Sunny daughter was sitting fifth, just three and a half lengths off the pace, and turning for home she had cut that margin in half.

Accelerating down the stretch Busta Balls cruised by the faltering leaders and to the half length victory in a personal best 1:59.4. The effort peeled more than one second off the filly’s former personal best effort, set in her Grassroots Championship triumph at Georgian Downs on Oct. 15.

Southern Senorita and Elena also closed well from the rear of the field to claim the second and third-place portions of the $130,000 Gold Final purse, while last week’s elimination winners Proud Passion and Whatthehecklavec settled for fourth and sixth-place.

Marcel Hebert trains Busta Balls for breeder Erminio Ciani of Toronto, Elaine Van Every of Hagersville and Shirley Burra of Flamborough. The Dundas resident has conditioned the filly to a record of three wins, three seconds and three thirds in 19 starts this season, for earnings of $140,517.

In last week’s elimination she recovered from an early break to finish fourth, but local fans clearly believed Burra’s assertion that Hebert had addressed the cause of the break and sent the filly off as their fourth choice in the field of eight. Busta Balls responded to their faith with a $13.30 win pay out, a $6.00 return on each place wager and a $3.90 show dividend. Longshot Southern Senorita returned $18.00 to place and $9.80 to show, while sixth choice Elena paid $6.90 to show.

The lightly regarded fillies returned $166.70 on an exactor wager and $2,178.30 for each correct triactor ticket.

Friday’s Gold Final wrapped up the regular season for the Gold Series fillies and the top 10 point earners now head to Woodbine Racetrack on Nov. 12 for their $300,000 Super Final. While her win Friday bumped Busta Balls in to eleventh place in the division standings, fans will not see her compete in the lucrative event, horses can only compete in one of the year end championships and she already has her Grassroots trophy displayed at home.

Some of the talented sophomore trotting lasses will make one last stop at Flamboro Downs however, when the Dundas oval plays host to their last Trillium Series event on Friday, Nov. 18.

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rflmdfr.html#N8