LONDON, ON — Three-year-old trotting colt Parlay picked up his first Gold Series win since May 17 when he was first under the wire at Western Fair Raceway on Friday evening.

Starting from Post 5 in the first of two $40,000 Gold Eliminations, driver Trevor Ritchie hustled the Kadabra son out to a :29.3 opening quarter and spent the remainder of the mile holding fan favourite Equity at bay. Through the 1:00.4 half and 1:30 three-quarters, Equity pressed the pace on Parlay’s right flank, but the pacesetter refused to yield and pulled away in the stretch to a one and one-quarter length victory in 1:59.2.

Equity settled for second for the third straight week, with pocket-sitter Angeldrive rounding out the top three. Celebrity Hercules picked up the fourth-place cheque and a berth in next week’s Gold Final.

Ricky MacPhee of Cambridge, Harris O’Brien of Fort Erie and Robby Wiratmo Wibawa of Mississauga share ownership on Parlay, who boosted his sophomore record to seven wins and two seconds in 16 starts with the win, which pushed his earnings to $113,240. MacPhee also trained the colt through most of his career, but recently swapped him to trainer Jeff Gillis in return for a two-year-old pacing colt. The switch seems to have suited Parlay, as he is now two for two under Gillis’s guidance.

The second Gold Elimination saw an upset as reigning Gold Final champion I Wont Dance was bested by the lightly rated Breewood Gringo. I Wont Dance took early command of the race, leading the field of trotting colts to a :27.4 quarter and a :58.3 half, but Breewood Gringo powered up before the 1:28.2 three-quarters to establish a one and a half length lead.

Driver Trevor Henry urged Breewood Gringo down the stretch to the 1:58 victory, reaching the wire one and three-quarter lengths ahead of I Wont Dance. Winning Mister and Magic Spice were three and three-quarter lengths back in third and fourth.

Friday’s victory was the first in Gold Series action for Breewood Gringo, who is owned and trained by Stephen Loughran of Princeton. Through 16 starts the Amigo Hall son has four wins, two seconds and one third to his credit for a total of $77,200 in earnings. The win moved Breewood Gringo into contention for a berth in the season ending Super Final, which sees the top 10 point earners from the regular season compete for $300,000 at Woodbine Racetrack on Nov. 14.

The top four finishers from each of Friday’s Gold Eliminations will return to Western Fair Raceway next week to compete in the last $130,000 Gold Final of their careers. The complete line up for the Oct. 9 final is as follows:

Post 1 Parlay

Post 2 I Wont Dance

Post 3 Celebrity Hercules

Post 4 Equity

Post 5 Magic Spice

Post 6 Angeldrive

Post 7 Winning Mister

Post 8 Breewood Gringo

Also Eligible 1 Hour Lavec

Also Eligible 2 Zero Boundaries

Also Eligible 3 Maldeen

For complete results please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/racing/results/data/r1002lonn.dat.