LONDON, ON — In the highly anticipated clash of the three-year-old pacing filly titans, round one went to Michelle’s Power on a Friday evening at Western Fair Raceway that did not go as well as local horseman John Pentland had envisioned.

Last season’s top fillies, division champion and O’Brien Award winner Luck Of Michelle and Super Final champion Michelle’s Power, lined up right beside each other in the second of two Gold Eliminations at the London oval. As was her custom last season, Luck Of Michelle stormed away from Post 2 to reach the opening quarter in :27.3, while Michelle’s Power secured the third spot on the rail from Post 1.

Luck of Michelle and driver Mike Saftic continued to lead the field of six through a :57 half and 1:25.4 three-quarters, but as the fillies swung around the last turn driver Jody Jamieson had Michelle’s Power on the move. At the top of the stretch Michelle’s Power and Jamieson were just one length behind the pacesetters and a :27.4 finishing kick propelled them to a half length victory in a track record 1:54.

The stretch duel between the division’s superstars left the rest of the field gasping for air, with third and fourth-place finishers Twin B Godiva and Quail Seelster five lengths to the rear.

Setting the tone for what should be a season of exciting showdowns between the pair of Camluck daughters, the mile peeled a full second off the former three-year-old pacing filly track record set by Draconian Promise last season.

William Elliott trains fan favourite Michelle’s Power for owner and breeder Jeffrey Snyder of New York, NY. Snyder also bred Luck Of Michelle, who is trained by John Pentland of Dorchester and owned by Karen Carroll of Shedden and Natalie Pentland of Dorchester.

Friday’s battle was the second start of the season for Michelle’s Power, who made her sophomore debut in an overnight at Mohawk Racetrack on May 18 where she finished second in a field of older horses.

Luck Of Michelle’s loss to her arch nemesis was the second disappointment of the evening for the Pentland stable. One race earlier Luck Of Michelle’s self-effacing stablemate Jan’s Luck had delivered an impressive front end performance to reach the wire two lengths ahead of her peers in a personal best 1:55, only to be set back to sixth by the Ontario Racing Commission (ORC) officials for causing interference before the start.

The filly’s time was disallowed and runner-up Simply Mavelous was promoted to the top of the podium, followed by P L Angel, Milliondollarsmile and Angel In Motion.

Rick Zeron trains and drives Simply Mavelous for Alan Guthrie of Windsor. Friday’s outing was the Western Maverick daughter’s Gold Series debut and her fourteenth start of the year.

The top four fillies from each elimination will return to Western Fair Raceway on Friday, June 1 for their $130,000 Gold Final, with post positions to be drawn following an appeal of the ORC officials’ decision to set Jan’s Luck back to sixth.

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rlonfr.html