OTTAWA, ON — On Friday night Ontario’s talented two-year-old trotting fillies gave Rideau Carleton Raceway fans a Gold Final finish that they won’t soon forget.
Quantum Victoria and South Bay kicked off the $130,000 Gold Final with an early battle for control that saw South Bay reach the quarter pole in :28.1. South Bay was still on top at the :57.4 half, but the pacesetter was soon under attack by a trio of fillies led by Extraordinaire.
Extraordinaire grabbed the lead heading down the backstretch, but the two-time Gold Final winner barely had time to settle in before Gold Elimination winner My Whispering Eye went roaring past, hitting the three-quarters in 1:27.4. After weaving in and out of breaking horses through the first quarter mile, elimination winner Oh Sweet Baby had followed Extraordinaire and My Whispering Eye up the outside and the fan favourite matched steps with My Whispering Eye around the final turn and down the stretch.
The elimination winners reached the wire as one, stopping the teletimer at 1:58.4 and requiring a photo to determine that My Whispering Eye had secured the Gold Final title by a nose.
Anthony MacDonald piloted My Whispering Eye to her second lifetime win for his brother, trainer James MacDonald, and owner Terry Hunter of Troy, ON. The Here Comes Herbie daughter scored her first lifetime win in last week’s elimination round, where she also trotted under the wire in 1:58.4.
Through 11 starts My Whispering Eye has now tallied two wins and six seconds for earnings of $157,200. The win bumped the filly into a tie for top spot in the division standings with Peach Martini, both of them boasting point totals of 205.
My Whispering Eye was purchased for a mere $6,000 at last fall’s Canadian Open Yearling Sale, part of what Hunter calls a pattern of turning modestly priced yearlings into successful racehorses.
“We’ve got a pattern the last few years of not buying real expensive yearlings, but we’ve got a real good train down program,” explained the owner. “We treat our babies, almost from Day 1, as if they are racehorses.
“Last year we had 12 babies and we broke them all in one day. Every single one put a harness on and went and jogged a mile.”
Actually, My Whispering Eye put a harness on and went more than a mile at more than a jog, admitted Hunter.
“She bust out of the cross ties and ran out of the barn. She ran into the parking lot and then they cornered her in a paddock at the far end, but she smashed through the fence,” he recalled. “She was on the track, then she ran onto Centre Road and almost got hit by a car.
“When they caught her, they put a new harness on and went out and jogged a mile,” he continued. “And I said, �I think she’s got some spirit to her.'”
That spirit was clearly evident in the stretch drive on Friday night, and My Whispering Eye’s connections hope Ontario Sires Stakes fans will get to see it again when the last Gold Series event gets under way at Mohawk Racetrack on Oct. 11.
Rideau Carleton Raceway fans get a second dose of provincial action this weekend as the Ottawa oval plays host to four Grassroots divisions for the three-year-old pacing fillies on Sunday at 6:30 pm.
For complete results please go to: Rideau Carleton Raceway Results — Oct. 1, 2010