GLOUCESTER, ON — Two-year-old pacing colt Goose Creek logged his second straight Gold Series Elimination victory with an impressive 1:54.4 performance at Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday evening.

With regular reinsman Mike Saftic at the helm the colt was quick to grab control of the race from Post 5, and maintained a one and a half length margin through fractions of :29, :57.3 and 1:26.4. Down the stretch Goose Creek kicked into high gear and hit the wire three and three-quarter lengths ahead of former Grassroots winner Sauble Ron and reigning Gold Final champion Raw Energy. Fourth-place finisher Canyoukeepasecret also advanced to next weekend’s Gold Final.

Barry and Debbie Bird of Harwood and Cyril Hayes of Burlington bred Goose Creek and share ownership on the talented young pacer with Georgetown resident Ken Ewen. Through five starts the son of Camluck and Jacks Creek has notched three wins, one third and one fourth for earnings of $68,877.

Trained by David Menary, Goose Creek qualified twice at Mohawk Racetrack in early June and then finished fourth in an elimination of the June 17 Gold Series season opener at Georgian Downs. Missing the Final, the young pacer captured the consolation on June 24 and then bounced back and won his Gold Elimination at Mohawk on July 2 in a personal best 1:54. In the July 9 Gold Final Goose Creek finished third, just one and a quarter lengths behind winner Raw Energy.

Next Sunday Saftic and Goose Creek will try to make it two in a row from Post 4 in the $130,000 Gold Final.

First time Gold Series starter Semalu Express claimed the first $54,213 Gold Elimination with the same front end style. The Rustler Hanover son and driver Stephane Brosseau put up fractions of :28, :56.4 and 1:25.4 on their way to the 1:55.1 win over Silent Whispers and the favoured entry of Test Flight and Warrawee Ideal.

Fifth-place finisher Au Revoir Ace won the draw and picked up the last berth in next weekend’s lucrative Gold Final.

Daniel Malouin trains Semalu Express for breeders Semalu Inc. of Laval, QC and opted to skip the first two Gold Series events with the talented young pacer. After qualifying on June 17 and 24 at Hippodrome de Montreal, Semalu Express started his career with a strong third-place finish in a June 30 maiden event in Montreal and then came back the next week to post a smart 1:55.3 victory, hitting the wire 14 lengths ahead of the competition.

Semalu Express will test his skills in next week’s Gold Final from the trailing Post 9.

The top four colts from each elimination, plus fifth-place finisher Au Revoir Ace, will return to Rideau Carleton Raceway next Sunday, July 23 for the third $130,000 Gold Final on their freshman schedule. Post positions for the Final are as follows:

Post 1 Sauble Ron

Post 2 Raw Energy

Post 3 Canyoukeepasecret

Post 4 Goose Creek

Post 5 Warrawee Ideal

Post 6 Au Revoir Ace

Post 7 Silent Whispers

Post 8 Test Flight

Post 9 Semalu Express

AE1 Sergei Seelster

AE2 Twin B Impact

AE3 Timely Topic

For complete results please go to:

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