CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — One Ontario Sires Stakes veteran and a couple of fresh faces had their pictures taken in the Gold Elimination winner’s circle at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday night.
Division leader Peach Martini opened the program with an impressive performance that made her look far more mature than her two years. Starting from Post 1 the young trotter was moving smartly along the rail when early leader Haphazard Gourmet made a break right in front of her and took several moments to maneuver to the outside. Trainer-driver Rick Zeron steadied Peach Martini, and the fan favourites were sitting third as things settled down heading by the :28.4 quarter.
After Haphazard Gourmet went off stride, Tropical Breeze AS moved into the lead, but she was soon overtaken by reigning Gold Final champion My Whispering Eye. My Whispering Eye sailed along to the :58.3 half, at which point Zeron tipped Peach Martini to the outside. By the 1:28.4 three-quarters My Whispering Eye’s lead had been carved down to less than one length, and when the fillies turned for home Peach Martini kicked into high gear and sailed under the wire a one and one-quarter length winner in 1:58.2.
B Cor Janett slipped to the outside late and trotted down the stretch into second, while Haphazard Gourmet recovered from her early error to grab the third-place share of the $40,000 Gold Elimination purse. My Whispering Eye earned the right to defend her title by winning the draw between the fourth-place finishers for a berth in next week’s Gold Final.
Monday’s outing was Peach Martini’s first in over a month. The Striking Sahbra daughter last appeared in a division of the Champlain Stakes at Mohawk on Sept. 2. Although she has yet to capture a Gold Final title, Peach Martini has been the most consistent performer in the two-year-old trotting filly division this season. Unbeaten in Gold Elimination action, the precocious trotter has two seconds and one fifth in Gold Final competition for a total of 255 Gold Series points.
Oakville, ON resident Zeron trains the winner of $156,356 for his partners Michael Katz of Thornhill, ON, Stephen Waldman of Toronto, ON and Rojan Stables of Wilmington, DE.
The second Gold Elimination saw Myherbal T Hanover save ground on the inside and then scoot through a seam in the stretch to score her first ever victory. Starting from Post 6, driver Jason Brewer was in no hurry through the early going, sitting sixth as Ugotlegs sprinted out to a :27.3 opening quarter. Heading for the :58.1 half, Ugotlegs faced a challenge from favourite Oh Sweet Baby and when that filly went off stride Keith Oliver sent Enchantment out to pick up where she had left off.
While Ugotlegs and Enchantment battled to the 1:29 three-quarters, Jason Brewer scooted up the inside into the spots vacated by Enchantment and Walked Into Heaven and when the field turned for home was sitting just three lengths off the pace in third. Ugotlegs and Enchantment waged a fierce battle down the stretch, trading the lead with each stride and opening up a gap in between them that Myherbal T Hanover was able to scoot through. Once she had open racetrack the lightly rated filly rocketed home to a two length victory in 2:00.1.
With one last burst of speed Enchantment got up for second, leaving Ugotlegs to settle for third.
Kevin O’Reilly trains Myherbal T Hanover for DM Stables LLC of Naples, FL, and had harnessed the filly on just two other occasions this season. Prior to Monday’s test the Here Comes Herbie daughter had logged a second in an Aug. 30 overnight at Grand River Raceway and a fifth in the Sept. 6 Grassroots event at Dresden Raceway.
In the last division L A Freeway returned to her early season form with a gritty effort up the outside to score her first Gold Series win. With Paul MacDonell in the race bike L A Freeway moved cautiously off the starting gate from Post 1 and was sitting fourth when Quantum Victoria reached the opening eighth in :13.1. Hung up on the outside through the :28.2 opening quarter, Beach Party AS finally reached the front, but was barely settled in before two-time Gold Final champ Extraordinaire came calling.
Extraordinaire led the field to the :59.4 half and the 1:30 three-quarters, but was being steadily reeled in from the outside by L A Freeway, who tipped off the rail heading by the halfway marker. In spite of her overland trip L A Freeway had plenty in reserve, and kicked home to a three-quarter length victory in a personal best 1:59.2.
Extraordinaire did not give up and was an easy second, with early leader Quantum Victoria getting up for third, three lengths behind the leaders.
Marvin Katz of Toronto, ON and Al Libfeld of Pickering, ON bred and own L A Freeway, who started off her season with a Grassroots victory at Grand River Raceway on July 14 and a third in the Aug. 7 Gold Eliminations at Mohawk. Unfortunately the Kadabra daughter then made two consecutive breaks in races and one in a qualifier. After laying down a flat line in a Sept. 4 qualifier at Kawartha Downs with trainer John Bax in the race bike, L A Freeway returned to the Grassroots program on Sept. 17 and made an impressive recovery from an early break to score a 10 length victory, halting the Georgian Downs teletimer at 1:59.2.
Bax opted for another qualifier before Monday’s Gold Series test, and Guelph, ON resident MacDonell engineered a flawless 1:58.4 mile over Mohawk on Sept. 24. L A Freeway will be aiming for another solid effort from Post 7 in next Monday’s Gold Final at Woodbine Racetrack, while Myherbal T Hanover gets Post 4 and Peach Martini is handicapped by the outside Post 10.
The complete line up for next week’s $130,000 Gold Final is as follows:
$130,000 Gold Series Final — Monday, Oct. 18 at Woodbine Racetrack
Post 1 Ugotlegs
Post 2 Extraordinaire
Post 3 Enchantment
Post 4 Myherbal T Hanover
Post 5 Quantum Victoria
Post 6 My Whispering Eye
Post 7 L A Freeway
Post 8 B Cor Janett
Post 9 Haphazard Gourmet
Post 10 Peach Martini
For complete results click: Mohawk Racetrack Results — Oct. 11, 2010