REXDALE, ON — Two-year-old pacing colt Doonbeg proved that size is no measure of ability in the $130,000 Gold Final at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday evening.
Arguably the smallest horse racing on the Woodbine Entertainment Group circuit, Doonbeg sprinted from eighth to first through the last quarter on Saturday to claim his first Gold Final trophy and earn a berth on the starting gate in next weekend’s $300,000 Super Final.
Driver Jody Jamieson gave Doonbeg a picture perfect come-from-behind steer, easing off the gate into eighth as U Lucky Guy paced to a blistering :26 opening quarter and then cruising along at the back of the pack as favourite Alastor Hanover took the field to a :55 half and 1:23.3 three-quarters. Around the final turn Jamieson sent Doonbeg up the outside and the colt was four and a half lengths off the pace turning for home, but a powerful finishing kick propelled the pint sized pacer to a 1:52.4 victory. Spokesman also closed well to nudge Alastor Hanover into third-place.
James Dean trains Doonbeg for Clay Harland Horner and Scott Horner of Toronto and Stew Firlotte’s Torlando Farms Inc., of Orlando, FL. The long time partners bred the son of Camluck and St. Mattrick’s Way and have watched him amass a record of five wins and one second in eight starts this season for earnings of $121,706.
Saturday’s victory was colt’s second straight and bumped his Super Final point tally to 100, good enough for sixth spot in the division standings and giving him a berth in next Saturday’s $300,000 season finale.
Saturday also marked the end of division leader Alastor Hanover’s win streak, which started on July 4 and stretched through four Gold Eliminations and three Gold Finals.
Doonbeg went off as the Woodbine fans’ second choice and returned $7.30 to win, $5.40 to place and $2.50 to show. Favourite Alastor Hanover delivered a $5.80 place pay out and a $2.50 show dividend, while third choice Spokesman returned $2.10 to show.
The exactor was worth $34.90, the triactor paid $72.10 and the superfecta, which added fourth-place finisher Secluded Island to the top three choices, returned $471.00.
The talented two-year-old pacing colts will wrap up their Ontario Sires Stakes campaign next Saturday, Nov. 12 at Woodbine when the top 10 point earners from the regular season go head-to-head in their $300,000 Super Final, one of eight rich season finale’s the Rexdale oval will host that evening.
For complete results please go to:
http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rwdbssa.html#N5