REXDALE, ON — Woodbine Racetrack celebrates Victoria Day with an outstanding line up of racing that features the $130,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Final for three-year-old trotting fillies and three Gold Series Eliminations for three-year-old trotting colts.

Leading the field into the trotting filly event are elimination winners Southern Senorita and Erotica, and Erotica gained the early advantage by drawing Post 7 to her rival’s Post 9. The Mr Lavec daughter and driver Douglas R. Ackerman will be looking to repeat the impressive performance they delivered in the elimination round when they hit the wire in 1:57.3, six and a half lengths up on the competition.

“I was expecting good things from her, but maybe not quite as strong as she was finishing,” says Ackerman, who steers the filly for his parents, Doug and Ada Jean Ackerman of Warren, MI. “Last year she had a lot more gate speed, but this year she’s finishing better. I like that better, the money is on the back end, not the front.”

As a two-year-old Erotica captured an elimination of the Gold Series season opener and earned $76,388 before being sidelined by a chipped knee in mid-September. After several months of rehabilitation the filly resumed training at the family’s Michigan farm and Ackerman has been impressed with her progress.

“She trained good the whole time, her qualifier (April 22) was good, but her first race was junk,” he says. “I think, well, I know I messed her shoeing up.”

With a heavy stakes schedule in the coming weeks, the Ackerman’s focus will now be on keeping Erotica physically and mentally sharp.

“She’s in the Casual Breeze and the Elegantimage, and they just keep coming and coming and coming,” says the veteran horseman. “So we’ll try not to beat her up during the week, because her schedule will beat her up enough. Hopefully she can hang around to the end, she faded out too quick last year.”

Before Erotica and her peers step onto the track in Race 6, the three-year-old trotting colts will have two Gold Eliminations on the books. The top three finishers from Races 2, 4 and 7 are guaranteed a spot in the May 30 Gold Final and trainer John Bax hopes Good To Be King will be joining the first six qualifiers with a strong performance in Race 7.

The son of Balanced Image and Armbro Monarch earned his way into Monday’s $38,141 contest with an impressive outing at Woodbine on May 17 where he recovered from an early break in stride to post a 1:55.3 victory.

“I was a little more than impressed,” admits Bax, who trains the royally bred youngster for Al Libfeld of Pickering and Marvin Katz of Toronto. “There certainly won’t be a question of whether he has enough speed.”

Monday’s Gold Elimination will only be Good To Be King’s seventh lifetime start. Like Erotica, his freshman campaign was cut short by health problems.

“He had three throat operations last year, over the course of the year,” explains Bax. “So far, I’m crossing my fingers, but everything has been going well.

“You have to give credit to the owners for taking the time and giving the horse every chance possible. There are not too many that would take the time and the money.”

Good To Be King will start from Post 9 in the seventh race, and Bax does not expect the outside post to trouble the novice trotter. The Peterborough resident’s primary concern was whether or not regular reinsman Paul MacDonell would be available to drive with his regular mount from last season, Super Final winner Classic Lavec, starting from Post 11.

“He’s a bit of a nervous horse,” says Bax. “And I would feel better if Paul drives him, but as I always say, we’re not married to these drivers.”

In addition to Classic Lavec, Good To Be King faces last year’s Grassroots Champion Zorgwijk Fortunate from Post 2, Tie Silk Series winner Brawn Seelster from Post 5 and two-year-old Canadian Breeders Championship winner Last Flight Out from Post 8.

Woodbine Racetrack sends the first race of its Victoria Day (May 23) program behind the starting gate at 7:40 pm, with the sophomore trotting colts competing in Races 2, 4, and 7 and the trotting fillies taking centre stage in Race 6.