REXDALE, ON — Heading into last week’s Gold Series Eliminations driver Mike Saftic’s main concern was making sure reigning champ Sir Luck got a slightly easier outing than his 1:53 victory in the July 3 Gold Final. With that accomplished Saftic has turned his attention to Thursday night’s Gold Final at Woodbine Racetrack and the Campbellville reinsman is certain there will be no room to relax against the group of two-year-old pacing colts gearing up for the $130,000 event.

“I didn’t know how he’d bounce back from that 1:53 mile in his second start, but he felt really good. He was well in hand,” says Saftic of Sir Luck’s 1:55 Gold Elimination victory last week.

“He’s the talk of the town right now because he won the first Gold but there are some nice colts coming out. I can see that division heating up pretty good,” adds Saftic, who handles the colt for trainer Bill Budd of Carlisle and owners C and I Siegel Racing Stable Ltd. of Brooklyn, NY. “If it’s nice weather Thursday I wouldn’t doubt if that Final went in 1:51.”

Among the nice colts that Saftic will be keeping his eye on from Post 8 in the fifth race are two trained by Milton resident Ben Wallace. Wallace trainee Famous Seelster scored the fastest of the three elimination wins with his five and a half length 1:54 effort and his stablemate Gotta Feeling was not far off that pace with a 1:54.2 triumph.

Black Horse Racing of Lebanon, NJ own Famous Seelster, who surprised Woodbine fans with his decisive win. The Rustler Hanover colt will start from Saftic’s left on the starting gate at Post 7. A $150,000 yearling purchase, Gotta Feeling was touted as the one to beat in his elimination and did not disappoint fans or his owners Arlene and Jules Siegel of New Hope, PA. The Camluck colt will flank Saftic on the right, starting from Post 9.

“They went two big trips and they were both lightly raced,” says Saftic of the Wallace stable competition. “We’ll have to see where the speed is. Sir Luck will race either way (from the front or behind) so if I can get him into the race I think we’ll be all right. He’s a good gaited horse and he’s really got some speed.”

From his first qualifier Saftic and Budd have been focused on giving Sir Luck the skills he would need to be successful in the dog-eat-dog Gold Series. In his first qualifier they raced him from the back of the field then took him to the front in his second outing. He raced from off the pace in both the Gold Elimination and Final at Windsor Raceway, recovering from a break in the Elimination to finish second, but controlled the pace in last week’s Elimination win.

“The only other thing that I’d wish is if I owned him,” says Saftic with a chuckle. “I was in Harrisburg when he (Cliff Siegel) bought him. I don’t know how I missed him.”

In just three starts the son of Camluck and Lisas Acquisition has recovered his $20,000 US purchase price and put the Siegel Racing Stable well into the black, even with the unfavourable exchange rate. Cliff Siegel is just one of ten American owners with an entry in Thursday’s $130,000 Gold Final, making it clear what a tremendous program the Ontario Sires Stakes has become over the last 29 years.

One of the reasons the OSS has evolved into the top Sires Stakes jurisdiction is the ongoing development of the program. New in 2002 are the Gold Series Consolation events at Woodbine and Mohawk Racetrack and fans will be treated to the two-year-old pacing colt Consolation in Race 2 on Thursday. Eight of the colts who finished out of the top three in the Elimination round will vie for $30,000.

Woodbine Racetrack sends its first race to the post at 7:40 pm with the Gold Series Consolation slated as Race 2 and the $130,000 Gold Final going to the gate in Race 5.