CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Peach Martini scored her second Gold Elimination victory with a dominant performance at Mohawk Racetrack on Monday evening that saw her sprint away from her two-year-old trotting filly peers to a five length victory in 1:59.4.
Oakville, ON resident Rick Zeron trains and drives Peach Martini for his partners Michael Katz of Thornhill, ON, Stephen Waldman of Toronto, ON and Rojan Stables of Wilmington, DE, and the veteran horseman had the precocious young trotter in high gear early. Starting from Post 7, the pair fired off the starting gate and took command before the :28.1 opening quarter.
Marching along to a :59.3 half and a 1:30.4 three-quarters, Peach Martini never saw a serious threat and simply ran off on her peers in the stretch. South Bay from the rail and Miss Janine on the outside battled into second and third spots, with both fillies securing a berth in the Aug. 9 Gold Final.
Through three starts Peach Martini now boasts two Gold Elimination wins and a runner-up effort in the season opening Gold Final. The daughter of Striking Sahbra and Armbro Martini, a $25,000 purchase from the 2009 Harrisburg Yearling Sale, has already banked $72,500 for her delighted owners.
Peach Martini will get a rematch against her nemesis from the July Gold Final, as reigning champion Extraordinaire also delivered a commanding victory in the third $40,000 Gold Elimination.
Trainer-driver Wayne Henry had Extraordinaire’s nose right on the gate when the wings folded and the filly hustled away from Post 9 into a spot on the rail, sitting third behind early leader Quantum Victoria. After Quantum Victoria reached the :29.2 quarter, fan favourite Some Like It Hot stepped to the outside and was able to reach the front before the 1:00.1 half. As Some Like It Hot led the field of novice trotting fillies to the 1:30.2 three-quarters, Quantum Victoria made a break that knocked her out of the running and opened up a gap for Henry.
Once she stepped to the outside, Extraordinaire went into overdrive, sprinting home in :28.4 to post 1:59.3 victory. Herbies Lenu and Ms Canada Kadabra also closed hard to finish three lengths behind the winner in second and third, earning a spot on the gate in next week’s $130,000 Gold Final.
Wayne Henry drives and trains Extraordinaire for his partners in the Henry Stable of Arthur, ON and James Laverty of Sauble Beach, ON. The Duke Of York-She Has It daughter was a $16,000 acquisition from last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale. She finished fourth from the outside Post 8 in her Ontario Sires Stakes debut at Flamboro Downs on July 16, then came back in the Gold Final to post a 2:02.1 upset over favourite Peach Martini.
The other two Gold Eliminations were both captured by newcomers to the Gold Series. Also starting from Post 9, Enchantment got a confident steer from Lynden, ON resident Keith Oliver to score a 1:59 victory in the second elimination.
Oliver eased the daughter of Angus Hall and Madam Super Bowl away from the starting gate and was sitting sixth when fan favourite L A Freeway reached the opening quarter in :29. As L A Freeway headed toward the :59.3 half, Oliver sent Enchantment up the outside and took aim on the leader. Although L A Freeway was still slightly ahead at the 1:29.4 three-quarters, by the time the fillies reached the top of the stretch, Enchantment was in charge and she sailed home to a one and three-quarter length victory.
My Whispering Eye got up for second, edging out L A Freeway, whose misfortune also extended to the post position draw for the Gold Final. With four eliminations, only two of the third-place finishers advance to the $130,000 Final, and L A Freeway’s name was not pulled from the hat.
Oliver engineered Enchantment’s victory for trainer William Companion and owners Common Sense Stable of Rockwood, ON and KOR Stable Limited of Guelph, ON. A $20,000 purchase from the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Enchantment made her first start in a Grassroots division at Grand River Raceway on July 14, making a break at the midway point in the race. Companion opted to requalify the filly on July 27 at Mohawk, and Enchantment went into her Gold Series test off a 2:00.3 qualifying victory.
In the final elimination Mario Baillargeon of Milton, ON had Here Comes Jenny in high gear from Post 9, and led the field around the first turn to a :29 opening quarter. However, her moment in the limelight was brief as Guelph, ON resident Anthony MacDonald hustled Scorpius to the front before the 1:00.1 half. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Acton, ON resident Trevor Ritchie then sent Marys Out Cruisin after the lead, and after clocking a 1:30.1 three-quarters the regally bred filly rolled home to a 1:59 victory.
Scorpius hit the wire just three-quarters of a length behind the winner, with Here Comes Jenny settling for third and an end to her Gold Series.
Torgeir Hagmann, who resides in Cambridge, ON, trains Marys Out Cruisin for David Goodrow Stable of Cambridge, ON and Kjell Magne Andersen of Oslo, Norway. The partners anted up $190,000 for Marys Out Cruisin at last fall’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale in hopes that the daughter of Here Comes Herbie and Mary Lou Hall would follow in the footsteps of her $1 million winning half-brother Crazed.
Hagmann started Marys Out Cruisin in the In Free Trotting Series at Mohawk on July 19 where she finished fourth with a 2:00 effort. The filly will be looking for her second straight victory from Post 3 in next week’s $130,000 Gold Final, with the rest of the field lining up behind the starting gate as follows:
$130,000 Gold Series Final — Monday, Aug. 9 at Mohawk Racetrack
Post 1 Peach Martini
Post 2 South Bay
Post 3 Marys Out Cruisin
Post 4 My Whispering Eye
Post 5 Herbies Lenu
Post 6 Extraordinaire
Post 7 Scorpius
Post 8 Enchantment
Post 9 Miss Janine
Post 10 Ms Canada Kadabra
For complete results please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/racing/results/data/r0802mohsn.dat.