INNISFIL, ON — Cincinnati Kid’s track record performance last weekend left Georgian Downs fans abuzz, eagerly anticipating this Saturday’s $130,000 Gold Final where the three-year-old trotting colt would tackle the top nine trotters in the division. Unfortunately Wednesday’s post position draw took some of the sizzle out of the air when Cincinnati Kid and driver Dan Clements drew the outside Post 9.

“That’s the worst,” says trainer Harald Lunde. “From this hole I think it would be very difficult. To go behind or be parked are the only two choices.”

In the two months that Lunde has trained Cincinnati Kid, the Campbellville resident has grown to like the Angus Hall son and is hopeful that performances like last week’s 1:55.3 record become the norm rather than the exception.

“He’s a really good horse, I like that horse,” he says. “He’s been good to me.”

Since moving to the Lunde barn in mid-August, after a rocky early season campaign south of the border, the colt has one win and one second in Gold Elimination action and a 1:54.4 win in the Sept. 25 Canadian Trotting Classic Consolation.

Last week’s victory moved Cincinnati Kid into ninth spot in the division standings so another top five result on Saturday should guarantee the colt a berth in the Nov. 13 Super Final at Woodbine Racetrack.

“With some luck he might be one, two, three,” says Lunde, who trains Cincinnati Kid for the Fred Monteleone Stable LLC of Pompano Beach. “Let’s hope he can catch some money and make the Super Final.”

However, before he steps up to the gate against the top Ontario-sired horses, Lunde hopes Cincinnati Kid will conduct himself well against North America’s best in the Oct. 23 Breeders Crown eliminations at Woodbine.

“He’s a good horse. I have a good feeling for him,” says Lunde. “I have seen the horses in Kentucky now and some of them are tired.”

Lunde’s patience and skill with a trotter have paid dividends before; the veteran horseman conditioned Rotation through an up and down season in the Ontario Sires Stakes in 2002 and the trotter put it all together in the $300,000 Super Final and then went on to earn more than $1.2 million during the last two seasons.

The other elimination winners fared better than their rival in the post position draw. In Conchnito will start from Post 2 and Loose Change Louie gets Post 7. Grand Sovereign, who was the only horse to keep up with Cincinnati Kid last weekend, was saddled with Post 8. Kettleby resident Antonio Tangreda’s Angus Scot will make a last ditch attempt to land in the Super Final from Post 3.

Georgian Downs sends its first race behind the gate at 7:30 pm on Saturday and turns the spotlight on the three-year-old trotting colts in Race 9 for the last $130,000 Gold Final of their career.