ELORA, ON — After barely missing an Ontario Sires Stakes record in their first Gold Series Final, the province’s talented two-year-old pacing fillies matched the track record at Grand River Raceway on Monday evening in the second of two $56,524 Gold Eliminations.

Setting sail from Post 3, Random Dreamer and driver Luc Ouellette went straight to the front of the nine filly field and had a three length lead before they reached the :27.4 opening quarter. Heading for the half, clocked in :57.2, the pair had extended their safety margin to four lengths over Ms Harrington, one half of the favoured Carl Jamieson entry.

By the 1:26.2 three-quarters, A Fiesty Affair had clawed her way up the outside to within one and a half lengths of Random Dreamer, but the effort took its toll around the final turn as the challenger started to fade. Kicking home with a 29 second final quarter, Random Dreamer recorded the one and a half length win over Ms Harrington, U Make Me Laugh and Maddam Luck, stopping the Grand River teletimer at 1:55.2.

The mile matched the record set by Luck Of Michelle in Gold Series action last summer, and proved Random Dreamer deserved her promotion to the Gold Series from the Grassroots, where she started her Ontario Sires Stakes career with a 1:59.2 victory at Hanover Raceway on July 21.

Trained by Frank Baker, Jr. for breeders James C. and James H. Baillie of London, Random Dreamer has been flawless since she stepped foot on Western Fair Raceway’s half-mile track for a qualifier on June 22. The daughter of D M Dilinger and Dextra Special won that qualifier by three lengths in 2:01.4, then went on to capture a freshman overnight event at the London oval with a 1:58.4 effort on June 29.

Random Dreamer will take her first crack at a $130,000 Gold Final from Post 6 next Monday, Aug. 6.

Ouellette also captured the first elimination, using the same front end strategy to land HF Velma her second Gold Elimination trophy. Starting from Post 4, HF Velma boasted a two and a half length lead by the :28.2 quarter, which she maintained through the :58 half. Under heavy pressure from Shake That Junk down the backstretch for the final time, HF Velma retained her composure and had surged back to a one length lead by the time she turned for home.

Shifted into high gear by Ouellette, HF Velma sprinted to a two length victory over fan favourite Shake That Junk, with A And Gs Astreos two more lengths back in third and Scary Stars five and a half lengths behind the winner in fourth. The 1:55.3 mile matched the clocking HF Velma recorded in her Gold Elimination victory at Mohawk Racetrack on July 16.

Ian Fleming of Londesborough owns the talented daughter of Apaches Fame and HF Issy, and Guelph resident Gregg McNair handles training duties on the filly, whose record improved to two wins and two thirds in five starts for earnings of $55,008. HF Velma will start from Post 3 in the Gold Final, part of Grand River Raceway’s popular Industry Day program on Civic Holiday Monday.

The complete line up for the freshman pacing fillies’ second Gold Final is as follows:

Post 1 Shake That Junk

Post 2 U Make Me Laugh

Post 3 HF Velma

Post 4 Maddam Luck

Post 5 A And Gs Astreos

Post 6 Random Dreamer

Post 7 Ms Harrington

Post 8 Scary Stars

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rgrvrmo.html