DUNDAS, ON — When Bob McIntosh saw the post position draw for Sunday night’s $130,000 Gold Final at Flamboro Downs, the veteran trainer was delighted to see that Geisha Hall had finally landed a decent post for an Ontario Sires Stakes event.

“Lately they’ve reserved the outside post for us, but they made a mistake this week and we got the three-hole,” says McIntosh with a wry chuckle. “Post positions haven’t been very kind to her.”

Through her first four Gold Series starts the two-year-old trotting filly has started three times from Post 9 and once from Post 7. In fact, through six lifetime starts Geisha Hall has only seen the inner half of the starting gate on one other occasion, another three-hole in a division of the Sept. 6 Champlain Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack, where she finished second.

“She’s been a good training filly all along, she always had a lot of potential. I was high on her all last winter,” says McIntosh, who shares ownership on Geisha Hall with breeder Walnut Hall Limited of Lexington, KY and CSX Stables of Liberty Center, OH. “I know she’s got a lot of ability. It’s just a matter of racing luck.”

The Striking Sahbra daughter demonstrated her ability with a victory in last weekend’s elimination round. Starting from the trailing Post 9, Geisha Hall and driver Jack Moiseyev landed in fourth on the rail, travelled up the outside to claim the lead heading past the three-quarter pole and then dug in down the stretch to claim a quarter length victory in 2:01.1.

“Jack was very happy. I was in Lexington (KY), but he said he was impressed. He was out a long way with her,” says the LaSalle resident. “She’s good on a half. She trained on a half all the time, I think that’s an advantage.

“We are optimistic about her, but you never know. She is a two-year-old filly.”

In her six starts Geisha Hall, a $130,000 US yearling acquisition, has two wins and one second to her credit for earnings of $60,092. In addition to last weekend’s Gold Elimination win, she was a winner in the Aug. 23 Gold Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack, but made an early break in the Final that knocked her out of contention.

“There was never a question of her ability. She can trot fast,” says McIntosh. “And she’s very well bred too. She’s out of a full-sister to Conway, Angus and Andover Hall. So there is a lot of upside to her down the road.”

Long term, McIntosh is looking forward to adding Geisha Hall to his already powerful broodmare band, but for now he would love to see her take advantage of Post 3 at Flamboro Downs on Sunday. Among the fillies he and Moiseyev will have their eyes on are elimination winner Spirit Of The Law from Post 8 and former Gold Final winners Birminghim and Lisa’s Mission from Posts 5 and 6.

The two-year-old trotting fillies battle in Race 8 on Flamboro Downs’s Sunday evening program, which gets under way at 6:20 pm.

For a complete list of entries please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eflmdsu.html#N8