DUNDAS, ON — Four months after making their provincial debut at the Dundas half-miler, Ontario’s talented two-year-old pacing fillies return to Flamboro Downs on Sunday evening for a pair of Trillium Series divisions.

A winner in that first Ontario Sires Stakes event, Draconian Promise has gone on to record two more wins, one second, one third, two fourths and one fifth in 10 starts and currently sits third in the Gold Series standings with 125 points. The Pat Keetch trainee will be aiming for her second Trillium Series win of the season on Sunday, but Keetch says the task may be a tough one from Post 6.

“From the six-hole she’s probably racing from behind,” says the Hamilton resident, who trains the filly for his wife Cully Keetch and Lawrence Simon of Hamilton. “She can leave faster on a bigger track, just because of her size.”

The Rustler Hanover daughter has grown like a weed since her June 30 debut at Flamboro Downs, which can be tough on a young racehorse, but Keetch says the filly seems to be adjusting well to her longer limbs.

“She’s doubled in size since the schooling races. She’s probably the biggest two-year-old out there,” says the horseman. “But her weight has kept up the whole year nice, even Lyle (MacArthur) has commented on that.

“He coordination is a little off now because she’s so big, but she’s feeling good.”

Like many of her peers, Draconian Promise heads into the race off a well earned three-week break in racing action. She has not raced since the Gold Series Consolation at Mohawk Racetrack on Sept. 30.

“I gave her one full week off and then light jogging for the next week, getting up to four to five miles a day by the end of the second week, and then I started to train her again,” explains Keetch. “I trained her up good at the farm on Saturday, and then she had Sunday off and I gave her Monday off too. Now I’m just going to jog her up to race day, because after Sunday she goes right back in six days.”

The freshman fillies’s last Gold Series event is Saturday, Oct. 29 at Windsor Raceway, so Keetch expects Sunday’s mile to put the filly back into tip-top shape for the last Gold event and the Nov. 12 Super Final.

Sunday’s Trillium Series competition is also open to fillies sired outside Ontario, as long as their owners reside in the province, and Draconian Promise and regular reinsman Lyle MacArthur will face off against Pennsylvania bred Platinum Seelster, who will start from Post 4 in the second race.

“She’s a nice filly. She’s got a high turn of speed,” says trainer Bob McIntosh of Platinum Seelster. “And she loves the half-mile track. I think she’ll put in a good showing.”

McIntosh trains the Western Hanover daughter for breeders Seelster Farms of Lucan and regular reinsman Jack Moiseyev will steer the filly on Sunday.

Flamboro Downs sends its first race behind the starting gate at 6:20 pm on Sunday and the two-year-old pacing fillies step to centre stage in Races 2 and 10.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsu.html