INNISFIL, ON — Sixty of the province’s most talented trotters and pacers will be panning for Ontario Sires Stakes gold at Georgian Downs on Saturday evening, part of the Innisfil oval’s $1 million Gold Rush.

Hoping to strike a vein of gold at her local oval is Gabrielles Girl, who earned a berth in the $140,000 three-year-old pacing filly Gold Final with a third-place finish in last weekend’s elimination.

“We were kind of trying her in there to see how she’d fit,” says the filly’s owner and breeder Ian Macintosh of Alliston. “Now we’ll see how she fits with all of the better ones. She’s stepped up a few lengths, but they are a tough bunch of fillies. There are one or two that can fit with any filly in North America.”

Thornton resident David Byron trains Gabrielles Girl for Macintosh and his partner John Van Reenen of Cayuga, and all three men have been pleased with the filly’s progress this season. Unraced at two, the long legged daughter of Camotion and Cheryls Place has amassed a record of two wins, two seconds and four thirds in the 11 starts since her March 22 debut at Georgian Downs.

“We decided to give her time to mature, and it looks like a good decision,” notes Macintosh. “She has a long way to go before she makes a real impact, but so far the direction is up.”

After 42 years in the harness racing business, including a long stretch where he trained and raced his own horses, Macintosh scaled his operation back about four years ago. Van Reenen, however, is new to the Standardbred game, and Macintosh says his partner is very enthusiastic about their young pacer’s Gold Series debut.

“He’s all excited about this horse and wondering when we’re going to buy another one,” says Macintosh wryly. “We’ll probably be partying whether we win or not.”

Although he now escapes to Florida for the winter, Macintosh taught Gabrielles Girl a few of her early lessons and says she has always covered the ground easily, even during her awkward stages.

“Her mother was a natural pacer that got hurt training, and this filly was a natural pacer right from the start,” he explains. “She wears hopples as a formality.”

Stephen Byron drives the filly, and the Thornton resident will send her off the starting gate from Post 3 in Saturday’s fourth race. Elimination winners Has An Attitude and Voelz Hanover will start from Posts 6 and 7.

The other $120,000 Gold Finals are slated as Races 6, 8, and 10 on Georgian Downs’ talent laden card. The runner-ups from the pacing colt, trotting filly and trotting colt eliminations will compete in $20,000 Gold Consolations in Races 1, 2, and 11, while the aged trotters and pacers will battle in their Masters Series Finals in Races 3, 5, 7, and 9.

If all the on-track action is not enough to keep you busy, Georgian Downs has also programmed an abundance of track side entertainment for all ages. From pony rides and a petting zoo, face painting and crafts for the younger set, to mechanical bull rides and a roving mariachi band for the bigger folks, all the entertainment is free of charge. To top it all off, one lucky race goer may go home in a new GMC pick-up or with a cheque for $100,000 in their pocket.

“This is the first time for the Gold Rush,” says Georgian Downs’ Marketing and Public Relations Manager Jackie Warner. “I think it’s going to be great, and we hope to make it bigger and better for next year, and years after.”

The first race of the $1 million Gold Rush goes behind the starting gate at 7:25 pm on Saturday, and the fun will continue into the wee hours with post race entertainment in the Longshot Lounge.

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