GLOUCESTER, ON — Eight freshman pacing fillies will return to Rideau Carleton Raceway on Thursday evening in hopes of snapping up the last Gold Final title of the season.

With division leader Luck Of Michelle absent from the crowd, elimination winner Tymal Trinity and leading point getter Michelle’s Power are the early favourites to claim the Gold Final crown, and trainer Marty Fine figures it will be all over but the shouting by the quarter pole.

“I think it’s going to be a great race and I think it’s going to be between our filly and Bruce Goit’s filly (Michelle’s Power),” says Fine, who trains Tymal Trinity. “It should be determined by the quarter any how.”

Last week driver Daniel Clements and Tymal Trinity led the field of nine around a sloppy Rideau Carleton oval to a 1:57.3 victory from Post 1. Michelle’s Power and Sylvain Filion finished three-quarters of a length back in second from Post 2 and Luck Of Michelle and Mike Saftic settled for third from Post 8. This week Michelle’s Power gets Post 1 and Tymal Trinity starts from Post 5, but Fine is unconcerned about starting from the middle of the gate.

“It’s going to be a driver’s race and, according to Daniel (Clements), the five-hole is not going to bother her,” says the North York resident, who trains Tymal Trinity for Onlineharnessowner Com 4 of Uxbridge. “It will be between Daniel and Sylvain to see how they settle it before the quarter.”

The only thing that could put a kink in Fine’s plans for Tymal Trinity is the Mach Three daughter’s penchant for making unforced errors turning for home. In Gold Elimination action at Windsor Raceway on July 30 and again in the Sept. 22 Gold Final at Mohawk Racetrack, Tymal Trinity went off stride at the top of the stretch.

“She’s had a little bit of a problem with making untimely breaks turning for home, and we don’t know why she does that, but other than that she’s a racehorse,” says Fine. “I think you’ll see the best of her this week. I think she’s going to be very good.”

Fine says that, in spite of her quirks, he would not trade Tymal Trinity for any other filly in the freshman pacing ranks, including $614,652 winner Luck Of Michelle.

“I think she’s just as good as Luck Of Michelle, Canadette and Michelle’s Power and I think she’ll prove it, whether it’s this week or in the Super Final or as a three-year-old,” asserts the trainer. “I’ve been around some nice fillies, but she is just a special horse and I hope she gets to show it.”

Fine gives much of the credit for Tymal Trinity’s consistent season — the filly has only finished out of the top three twice in 10 starts — to caretaker Cheryl Johnson.

“She’s just done an unbelievable job with this horse,” notes the trainer, “Mentally keeping her happy, and dealing with her issues.”

Hoping to keep Tymal Trinity out of the top three this Thursday are two fillies owned by William MacQuarrie’s 1187422 Ontario Inc. of Gloucester.

In last week’s elimination Quail Seelster finished fifth from Post 7 and I Don’t Mean Maybe finished at the back of the nine filly field from Post 4. This week Quail Seelster landed Post 2, while stablemate I Don’t Mean Maybe drew Post 8, but trainer James Wellwood says I Don’t Mean Maybe’s trip back to the Gloucester oval is in question.

“She’s kind of sick,” reports the Ancaster resident. “I don’t know if she’ll make the trip back or not. It’s a bad time of year.”

Fortunately Quail Seelster seems to be in fighting trim and Wellwood expects her to be able to improve on her elimination result from the inside post position.

“The seven and eight-hole were just brutal,” says the trainer about the track conditions after a full day of rain last Thursday. “It wasn’t so bad in the middle of the track, but it didn’t help my filly and it didn’t help Luck Of Michelle.”

The Camluck daughter finished third in the Sept. 22 Gold Final at Mohawk Racetrack and Wellwood is hoping she can match or exceed that effort in Ottawa on Thursday.

“We’ve got our fingers crossed. In fact they’re crossed so tight they’re cutting off the circulation,” quips the horseman.

The two-year-old pacing fillies will wrap up their regular season in the seventh race on Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Thursday evening program, which gets under way at 6:30 pm.

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