REXDALE, ON — Woodbine Racetrack fans were treated to a series of stunning upsets on Saturday evening, compliments of the three-year-old trotting colts competing in their season opening Gold Series Eliminations.

The surprises started early when A Gentleman, the fans’ fifth choice, sprinted from seventh to first in the stretch to capture the opening $34,989 Gold Elimination and heavy favourite Yorktown Gunner made an early break and finished more than three lengths back in fifth.

Leaving from Post 8, Charles Dillander floated A Gentleman down to the rail in seventh, nine lengths behind early pacesetter Distant Memories. While the lead changed hands faster than a model in a New York fashion show, Dillander was content to let A Gentleman maintain a steady tempo along the rail at the back of the pack. Six lengths behind leaders King Covenant and Swan Image as the colts rounded the last turn, Dillander hit the accelerator and A Gentleman tipped his hat to the field on the way to a one and a quarter length score in 1:56. King Covenant held on for second and Joey The Jet JT reeled in the third-place finisher’s share of the Ontario Sires Stakes purse.

Tony O’Sullivan trains A Gentleman for Carter Duer of Lexington, KY and William Weaver of Freehold, NJ. Saturday’s outing was only the Striking Sahbra son’s second of the season and third lifetime. O’Sullivan prepped the colt with a trio of qualifiers at The Red Mile in Lexington, KY, gave him one start on May 14 at Hawthorne Racecourse in Stickney, IL, where he posted a 2:00.4 victory, and then shipped north for the Gold Series season opener.

A Gentleman’s victory resulted in a hefty pay out for fans who liked his name or recognized his mother as $276,608 winner Model Home. A two dollar win ticket returned $48.30, a place voucher paid $25.20 and a show wager returned $10.40. King Covenant returned $7.30 and $5.80 for his runner-up effort and Joey The Jet JT paid $4.60. The exactor returned $340.00 and the triactor was worth a hearty $1,775.20.

Fans’ mouths continued to hang open through the second Gold Elimination as last season’s division champion Majestic Son finished fourth and the longest shot on the board, Breaking Benjamin, posted his first win of the season.

Keith Oliver piloted Breaking Benjamin to the 1:56.2 victory for trainer Brandon Piguet and owner James Davis of Lebanon, OH. Oliver opted not to hustle Breaking Benjamin out of Post 1 and landed in fifth spot behind Kelso as that colt carved out fractions of :28.1, :58.3 and 1:27.4. Two lengths behind the leader at the top of the stretch, Breaking Benjamin managed to edge out Colonel Talbot to score the half length victory in 1:56.2. Campbell Hall held off a late charge by Majestic Son to claim third-place honours.

Like A Gentleman, Breaking Benjamin prepped for his sophomore Gold Series season stateside, posting one second, one third and one fourth in three starts at Hoosier Park in Anderson, IN. Diligent Ontario Sires Stakes fans may have recognized the San Pellegrino son from his freshman campaign which saw him finish third in the elimination and second in the final of a Gold Series event at Mohawk Racetrack last fall.

Fans who recalled the colt’s freshman success recovered $70.50 on a win ticket, $35.10 to place and $13.60 to show. Fifth choice Colonel Talbot paid $12.70 to place and $5.10 to show and Campbell Hall, the second longest shot on the board, returned $11.30 to show. The exactor was worth $423.80 and picking numbers 1, 4, and 2 for a triactor play earned you a cool $6,208.90.

The final elimination saw the favourite fail to deliver for a third time, as B Cor Rennegade and Jack Moiseyev outsprinted Mr Lemon to score the 1:55.4 victory by three-quarters of a length.

Wayne Henry gunned Chosen Voyageur out of Post 6 to ring up a :28.1 opening quarter and then relinquished the lead to Brylin Lavec, who took the colts to a :58 half and 1:27 three-quarters. Heading toward the three-quarter marker, Moiseyev sent B Cor Rennegade up the outside from fourth and the CR Renegade son sailed easily to the front and then held off favourite Mr Lemon in the stretch to earn his first victory of the season. Chosen Voyageur hung on for third and Rush Fan finished fourth and earned a berth in the June 3 Gold Final by virtue of a draw between all of the fourth-place finishers.

Trained by Guelph resident Garth Gordon for his partners Jean Brechkow of Amherstburg, Bobby Brown of Kingsville and James Walker of Port Perry, B Cor Rennegade was a two-time Gold Elimination winner at two and earned $88,001 in the provincial program. The colt went into Saturday night’s contest off a pair of starts against older competitors at Woodbine and overcame Post 8 to claim his fourth lifetime win.

B Cor Rennegade’s luck did not improve for the Gold Final, as he will return to Post 8 next Saturday. The remainder of the field will line up across the Woodbine oval as follows:

Post 1 Breaking Benjamin

Post 2 Campbell Hall

Post 3 King Covenant

Post 4 A Gentleman

Post 5 Colonel Talbot

Post 6 Joey The Jet JT

Post 7 Mr Lemon

Post 8 B Cor Rennegade

Post 9 Rush Fan

Post 10 Chosen Voyageur

AE1 Majestic Son

AE2 Swan Image

AE3 Long On Ability

For complete results please go to:

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