ELMIRA — Lucky Irma swept to her first Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final victory on Friday night at Elmira Raceway, providing clear proof that she will be a player among the top three-year-old pacing fillies this season.
The Camluck daughter and driver Dave Boughton fired off the gate from Post 2 and sprinted by Putnam Kelly to record the lightening fast :27.2 opening quarter. Last week’s elimination winners then paced unchallenged to the :57.4 half before yielding briefly to favourite Ascending. As the fillies skirmished down the backstretch Lucky Irma regained her lead, hitting the three-quarters in 1:27.2, and started to power away from the field. By the top of the stretch she had a length and a half on Ascending and had increased the margin to three lengths at the wire, halting the teletimer at 1:56.3.
Rhiannon O Rhye, the other elimination winner from last week, and Shami Cami closed well to earn the second and third-place finisher’s share of the $130,000 purse.
William MacTavish of Rockwood trains Lucky Irma for owner-breeder John Christensen of Scarborough. The duo campaigned the filly on the Grassroots circuit as a two-year-old where she posted two wins, one second and one third in six starts for provincial earnings of $35,444.
This season Lucky Irma stormed out of the gate with a 1:56.2 victory in her April 29 debut at Georgian Downs and then added to her impressive resume with a 1:57.3 triumph in last week’s elimination over a track rated three second slower than normal. Friday’s Gold Final victory pushed the filly’s sophomore record to two wins in three starts and almost doubled her lifetime earnings, which now total $137,386.
In spite of her elimination win Elmira Raceway fans sent Lucky Irma off as their second choice behind Ascending. As a result the filly returned $5.10 to win, $4.00 to place and $3.40 to show. Other than that one error Elmira fans were accurate in their pre-race assessment of the fillies’ capabilities, making Rhiannon O Rhye and Shami Cami their third and fourth-choices. Fans holding a ticket with Rhiannon O Rhye in the place or show position earned $3.90 and $3.30, while Shami Cami paid $3.30 to show. The exactor was worth $36.70 and the 2 – 8 – 5 triactor returned $119.60.
Lucky Irma will get a second shot at Ontario Sires Stakes Gold on June 16 at Woodbine Racetrack, but she make a return trip to Elmira Raceway before that. The Woolwich Township oval hosts a Trillium Series event for the three-year-old pacing fillies next Friday, June 6 at 6:55 pm.