CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — With Sir Luck laying waste to three of the best two-year-old pacing colt fields North America has to offer in the last month, only 10 of his Ontario-bred peers have signed up to face him in Friday night’s Gold Series Elimination at Mohawk Racetrack.
Since the last Gold Series event (Aug. 18), Sir Luck has posted victories in the $1.1 million Metro Stake Final and divisions of the $106, 297 Champlain and $153,550 Nassagaweya Stakes, establishing himself as the top freshman pacer on either side of the border and the most successful two-year-old pacing colt ever bred and raised in Ontario. Wins in Friday’s Gold Elimination and the Oct. 4 Gold Final would push the Camluck son’s earnings over $1 million, a milestone reserved for harness racing superstars.
Trained by Carlisle’s Bill Budd for C. and I. Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. of Brooklyn, NY, Sir Luck has enjoyed a brief vacation since his Nassagaweya victory on Sept. 14.
“I gave him a week off to freshen him up. He was a little off his game,” says Budd, who has not been 100 per cent satisfied with colt’s health for the last six weeks. “He was in the paddock for three days then I jogged him back and trained him a little Saturday (Sept. 21). I’ll train him up good, in 2:05 or 2:06, tomorrow (Tuesday).”
Sir Luck will make his bid for a fourth straight victory, the ninth of his career, from Post 8 on Friday and Budd says the outside position may be an advantage given the size of the field.
“It’s narrowed down pretty good. I wish there had been one more, then they would have had two divisions,” he says. “But post doesn’t matter to him, he’s just a great horse. He actually gets off the gate better from the outside. Nine or 10 would’ve been worse, but eight’s not bad.”
Campbellville resident Mike Saftic will be in his regular spot behind Sir Luck in Friday’s $102,271 contest, while Rick Zeron pilots the colt’s stablemate Boulder Creek from Post 5.
Boulder Creek also heads into the Gold Elimination off a two week holiday following an impressive victory in a division of the Champlain Stake on Sept. 7 and a lacklustre fifth-place showing in his Nassagaweya division on Sept. 14.
“He touches one knee a little and he didn’t get off on the right foot (in the Nassagaweya) and it scared him a little,” explains Budd. “He’s better off the rail. He’s got the five-hole this week and he’ll be fine, he can get away and kind of come down into the turn.”
The son of Pacific Rocket is also owned by Cliff Siegel and currently sits in third spot in the division standings, behind Sir Luck and reigning Gold Final champ Au Rumba who will start from Post 3 on Friday.
Au Rumba heads into the rich Gold Elimination off a runner-up finish from Post 9 in a Flamboro Breeders Stake division on Sept. 20. Another son of Pacific Rocket, Au Rumba is owned by breeder Robert Hamather of Exeter and races out of the powerful Bill Robinson stable.
Mohawk Racetrack kicks of an exciting weekend of harness racing at 7:40 pm on Friday. The exciting two-year-old pacing colts line up behind the starting gate in Race 5 to compete in their fourth Gold Elimination, which will see just one colt knocked out of the field for the Oct. 4 Gold Final.