GLOUCESTER, ON — Earlier this week trainer John Bax predicted that Early Secret would have more to say from Post 2 in Thursday night’s Gold Final at Rideau Carleton Raceway than she had from Post 9 in the elimination round.
When Bax was forced to withdraw his entry of Elimination winner Pepi Lavec and runner-up Natashas Kiss due to sickness, his words proved prophetic as Early Secret had everything to say about the result of the $130,000 Gold Final, leading from gate-to-wire to post a 1:59 victory.
With early season pilot Keith Oliver aboard for the second week, heavy favourite Early Secret powered off the gate to a :29.1 opening quarter and led the field through fractions of 1:00.3 and 1:29.2 before pulling away to a four length victory over second choice Corinas Mission.
Local filly Terra Cotta Bye, owned by Louis Lecuyer of Ottawa and trainer-driver Robert Robinson and Jacqueline Dinelle of Hull, QC, finished third but was placed back to fourth after Rideau Carleton racing officials ruled that she had caused interference to Meanstoyourdreams at the three-quarter marker. As a result Meanstoyourdreams earned the third-place finisher’s share of the $130,000 purse and jumped into the final spot in the Nov. 16 Super Final at Mohawk Racetrack.
Owen Sound’s Paul Walker trains the ultra consistent Early Secret for breeder William Loyens of London and Malcom MacPhail of Dover Centre. Thursday’s Gold Final victory, her first, improved her 2002 resume to seven wins, five seconds and two thirds in 17 starts and boosted her season earnings to $374,045.
The Grassroots Champion at two, Early Secret is one of the heavyweights for next weekend’s $300,000 Super Final at Mohawk Racetrack and, especially if division leader Pepi Lavec cannot lick the virus that is going through John Bax’s Peterborough barn, she could be the first horse since the inception of the Super Finals to capture a championship at both the Grassroots and Gold Series levels.
Thursday night’s Gold Final wrapped up the 2002 Ontario Sires Stakes season at Rideau Carleton Raceway, which featured 10 outstanding events. The provincial program looks forward to returning to Ottawa in 2003 when a new group of two and three-year-old trotters and pacers will be eager to carve their names into the history books.