REXDALE, ON — Ontario’s talented two-year-old trotting colts gave Woodbine Racetrack fans full value for their dollar on Monday night with an outstanding finish to the $130,000 Gold Series Final. Less than a length separated the top four colts at the wire, with a scant nose deciding the winner.
As expected, fans sent division leader Meadowview Sunny off as their top pick and the Classic Adam colt and Doug Brown fired to the front out of Post 4 and led the field through fractions of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:27.2. Heading by the three-quarters Kingdom and Rick Zeron were applying heavy pressure from the outside, sitting within a neck of the leaders, but by the top of the stretch Meadowview Sunny and Brown had regained a comfortable one and three quarter length lead.
However, as the colts turned for home the other two elimination winners from last week, Gerry Lavec and Ethen Seelster, were preparing to mount their own challenge and in the photo at the wire it was Mario Baillargeon and Gerry Lavec who got the nod for the 1:57 victory. Meadowview Sunny was second, Kingdom was half a length back in third and Ethen Seelster was just three-quarters of a length behind in fourth.
“The track was real hard tonight and this colt’s feet bother him,” said Baillargeon from the winner’s circle. “I had to be real careful with him tonight. I actually thought he was better last week in his elimination. He’s about 75 per cent right now.”
As he did in the elimination round, Baillargeon sat slightly off the pace with Gerry Lavec on Monday night. Leaving from Post 1 the duo landed in fifth where they remained past the half when Baillargeon opted to follow Zeron and Kingdom up the outside. At the top of the stretch Gerry Lavec was three and three-quarter lengths behind the leader in third spot and Baillargeon was choreographing a drive to the wire which the colt performed perfectly.
Baillargeon’s brother Benoit trains Gerry Lavec for C. and I. Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. of Brooklyn, NY. The win boosted the colt’s record to two wins and one third in five starts for earnings of $83,089. Monday’s Gold Final victory repaid the colt’s $36,000 yearling purchase price and gave his owners a 100 per cent return on their investment.
In addition, ten colts who failed to qualify for the Gold Final competed in a $30,000 Consolation on Monday night and trainer Scott McEneny took home 62 per cent of the purse when stablemates Sea King and Zoltar Seelster captured first and third-place in the 1:58.4 mile.
Waterdown resident McEneny shares ownership on King Conch colt Sea King with Canamerica Capital Corp. of Milton and Gordon Bryan of Calgary, AB and on Zoltar Seelster with John Fielding of Toronto.
Armbro Approach split up the McEneny duo with his second-place effort.
The two-year-old trotting colts make their next Ontario Sires Stakes Gold start on Sept. 26 at Mohawk Racetrack as racing action swings back to the Campbellville oval for the fall meet.
Monday’s event was the last OSS event of the season at Woodbine, where fans witnessed a pair of provincial records being set this summer. Sophomore trotting colt Living Image equalled Armbro Officer’s 1:55 mark on June 10 and three-year-old pacing colt Firstline Luck established a new standard for the program with his 1:50.1 score on Aug. 10. The Ontario Sires Stakes looks forward to returning to Woodbine in 2003 when a new crop of talented youngsters will be eager to make their own mark on the history books.