ELORA, ON — A flawless steer from trotting master Trevor Ritchie earned Sin To Win the Gold Final title at Grand River Raceway on Monday afternoon, in a sparkling track and Ontario Sires Stakes record 1:59.

With the advantageous Post 2, Acton, ON resident Ritchie hustled the two-year-old trotting colt off the starting gate and forced fan favourite Hitithard to expend some energy getting to the front before the :29.1 opening quarter. Sitting comfortably in the pocket, Ritchie and Sin To Win watched Hitithard reach the half in :59.1, and then had a bird’s eye view of the battle between elimination winners Hitithard and Mopey Corey.

The bout went to Mopey Corey, who rolled by the 1:28.4 three-quarters four and a half lengths ahead of the field and was able to maintain that margin around the final turn as Ritchie and Sin To Win stepped to the outside around a breaking Hitithard. As the colts straightened out for the drive to the wire Guelph, ON resident Anthony MacDonald may have thought Mopey Corey had the Gold Final trophy within his grasp, but Ritchie was just shifting Sin To Win into gear.

With a closing kick worthy of an Olympic sprinter, Sin To Win accelerated down the stretch to grab the half length victory in a track and Ontario Sires Stakes record 1:59. Mopey Corey had to settle for second, while Mr Escadar closed strongly to finish third in the $140,000 Gold Final skirmish. Fan favourite Hitithard faded to seventh through the stretch.

Rockwood, ON resident Rob Fellows trains Sin To Win for owners Terry Kibler of Woodstock, VA, Pamela Wagner of Fairfax, VA and Scott Woogen of Mechanicsville, VA. The partners acquired the son of Striking Sahbra and Just Got A Winner for a modest $9,200 at last fall’s Indiana Select Yearling Sale.

Allen Long qualified the colt twice at Ocean Downs in Maryland before shipping him north for the Gold Series season opener. The colt made an early break in his July 15 Gold Elimination and when Fellows took over training duties, he decided Sin To Win would benefit from the addition of trotting hopples to his equipment bag. A third qualifier followed, a smart 2:00.1 win at Mohawk Racetrack on July 21, and the young trotter proved Fellows was right about the equipment change when he sprinted home in :28.3 to finish second to Rosesbowls MVP in his Gold Elimination at Grand River last week.

Sin To Win’s 1:59 mile eclipsed the Ontario Sires Stakes program’s oldest record, a 1:59.3 mile clocked by Armbro Marshall over the old Barrie Raceway half-mile in 1993, and matched by Australian Stock at Flamboro Downs in 2006.

In the Gold Consolation, Dr Cal delivered a gritty front end effort to claim the $20,000 prize. Starting from Post 4, the colt powered up the outside to reach the front just before the :31.2 opening quarter, ticked off a 1:03.4 half, and then turned away challenger Matador Joe going by the 1:35.1 three-quarters.

With just a half length lead turning for home, Dr Cal found another gear and pulled away to a one and three-quarter length victory in 2:05.1. Matador Joe finished a game second and Strike A Light turned his pocket trip into a third-place prize.

Milton, ON resident Steve Condren engineered the victory for trainer Bob McIntosh of Windsor, ON and his partners Dave Boyle of Bowmanville, ON and C S X Stables of Liberty Center, OH. A 2:01.4 winner in his racing debut at Flamboro Downs on July 16, Dr Cal made an unfortunate break in his elimination last week and finished well out of the running in seventh.

The son of Angus Hall is the third foal from McIntosh, C S X Stables and Arva, ON resident Angie Stiller’s mare Armbro Sylvie, who is the daughter of $1.1 million winner Armbro Keepsake.

The two-year-old trotting colts will face off for the third time this season on Aug. 18 at Mohawk Racetrack.

Also featured on Grand River Raceway’s Industry Day program was the $300,000 Battle of Waterloo Final for Ontario-sired two-year-old pacing colts, and 18 year old reinsman Doug McNair experienced the thrill of a lifetime when he piloted Trail Boss to a half length victory for his father, trainer Gregg McNair of Guelph, and his grandmother, Gwendolyn McNair of Walkerton.

Second in his Battle of Waterloo Elimination to fan favourite Go West Lucky Cam, Trail Boss delivered a tremendous effort up the outside of the Grand River half-mile to claim the 1:56 victory over Josh Seelster and Silver Sunset.

Gregg McNair also bred the son of Apaches Fame and Lavish Gem, who now boasts earnings of $156,000 through just two lifetime starts.

The eighth and final group of Ontario Sires Stakes stars to grace the Grand River Raceway oval will be the two-year-old trotting fillies, battling in their fourth Grassroots event on Friday, Sept. 12.

For complete results please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/results/data/rgrvrmo.html.