CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Friday evening’s Gold Elimination action at Mohawk Racetrack saw a pair of unheralded three-year-old trotting colts earn their first Ontario Sires Stakes victories.

In the first of two eliminations, Reserved Image and Kelvin Rose cruised from gate-to-wire in 1:57, easily turning back a pair of challenges from fan favourite Brancaleone.

“He came kind of sluggish. I was going to let him go if he could have made it by, but he couldn’t do it, so I just left him out there,” said Rose of Brancaleone’s half-hearted attempt to take control of the race. “It was just past the half when he got alongside me. Mike (Vanderkemp) was chasing him and he just didn’t seem to want to go by, so I changed my mind and said, �I’ll just let him stay out there and take my chances.'”

Brancaleone took a second run at Reserved Image down the stretch, but the Balanced Image colt responded to Rose’s urging and hit the wire one-quarter length in front of the favourite and one length up on third-place colt Stormont Welldone.

Bred and owned by Robert and Donna Burgess of Cedar Valley, Reserved Image is the son of their top race mare Kawartha An Worthy, who earned $156,084 in her own career and has already produced $132,999 winner A Fine Balance and $362,497 winner Coldspot. Like his mother and siblings, Reserved Image can be tough to handle, but Rose and trainer Rocco Auciello seem to have the gelding on an even keel this season.

“He’s a big horse and he needed to grow and fill out a bit; he’s got a nice, long stride,” said the reinsman from the winner’s circle. “He’s pretty hot, but we can manage him.”

Fourth and fifth-place finishers Connected Yankee and Mill Work also earned a berth in next week’s $130,000 Gold Final.

Upsets also reigned in the second elimination as favourite Northern Ensign went off stride early and the usually unpredictable King La Conch delivered a flawless effort to scoop up the 1:55.2 victory over Last Flight Out and Stonebridge Diablo.

“I know that he’s got speed, but he’s so tentative and paranoid out there. He’s afraid of everything and can break at the drop of a hat,” said trainer Joe Stutzman of the colt’s surprising performance. “Chris (Christoforou) did an excellent job of getting him around flat and I’m more than happy.”

Prior to Friday’s Gold Elimination, King La Conch had made a total of 13 starts and had made breaks in 10 of them. Stutzman welcomed the King Conch son into his barn in mid-May and has been tinkering with the colt’s equipment ever since, trying to achieve the kind of performance Mohawk fans witnessed Friday.

“The only change we made tonight was adding another screen to him so he can see even less so he doesn’t get scared out there,” said the veteran trainer. “(Chris) said that he was great tonight. Before when he drove him, it just seemed like he could break at any time. Tonight he said that he was trotting great and he never even offered to make a break.”

Robert Key of Leechburg, PA bred and owns King La Conch, who boosted his lifetime earnings to $35,540 with the one and three-quarter length victory.

Also advancing to the Canada Day Gold Final from the second elimination were Anahar Charlie and Feeling Frazzled. Post positions for the July 1 event at Mohawk Racetrack are as follows:

Post 1 Reserved Image

Post 2 Last Flight Out

Post 3 King La Conch

Post 4 Stormont Welldone

Post 5 Brancaleone

Post 6 Stonebridge Diablo

Post 7 Feeling Frazzled

Post 8 Connected Yankee

Post 9 Mill Work

Post 10 Anahar Charlie

AE1 Brawn Seelster

AE2 Monsieur Kan Due

AE3 Win All Hall

For complete results from Thursday evening’s program go to:

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