GLOUCESTER, ON — Ontario’s top three-year-old pacing colts are heading back to Rideau Carleton Raceway on Thursday evening for their second $130,000 Gold Final, and Scott Young intends to follow the exact same routine he did with Secluded Island in the elimination round in the hope that it produces the same result.

“I’m going to do everything the same this week,” says the youthful horseman, who chaperoned Secluded Island to a track record performance in last week’s elimination on behalf of his father, trainer Bob Young. “Last week I was really nervous. I had been by myself before, but never for a Gold Elimination and I thought, �If I mess up, I’m never going anywhere again.'”

Last Thursday the 14-year-old left Mohawk Racetrack at 6:30 am, arrived at Rideau Carleton in mid-afternoon and gave Secluded Island some time to relax before his Gold Elimination debut. After warming up the son of Island Fantasy following the first and third races on the 6:30 pm program, Young handed the gelding over to veteran reinsman Roger Mayotte.

“I told Roger he had trained good all week, and my dad told me that he’s ready,” recalls the Guelph resident, whose mother Gail Young shares ownership on Secluded Island with breeder Stan Klemencic and the 30 Plus Stable of Trenton.

Leaving from Post 2 Mayotte dropped Secluded Island in on the rail behind pacesetter Impeccable and watched patiently as that colt and Alastor Hanover battled through fractions of :26.4, :56 and 1:23.4. When Alastor Hanover started to fade on the outside Mayotte pulled Secluded Island out of the pocket and paced home to the 1:51.2 victory, lowering the track record for three-year-old pacing colts by four-fifths of a second.

“After I saw we set the track record I said, �Something’s got to be the matter with the teletimer. I don’t think we went that fast,'” says Young, who adds that the colt seems to have bounced right back from the record setting effort. “My dad trained him today in 2:20. I jogged him myself on Sunday, we jogged him Monday, he trained today and we’ll jog him lightly tomorrow, then race Thursday.”

Secluded Island and Mayotte will start from Post 4 in Thursday’s $130,000 contest and Young says he expects the pair to employ a strategy similar to the one that paid off last week.

“The four-hole worked out good,” says the high school student, who is working full time for his father this summer. “He can be a strong leaver, but I think the plan will be to leave a bit, kind of float out and find a hole.”

Young has been helping his dad around the barn since he was a preschooler and has known most of the trainers involved in Thursday’s race all his life. In addition to his responsibilities caring for the horses in his dad’s stable he has also volunteered to paddock horses on race night for other trainers, which has left him with a case of divided loyalty for Thursday’s race.

“I’ve known James “Friday” Dean for a long time and Doonbeg’s always been my favourite little horse. I looked after him in the North America Cup,” admits the personable youngster. “I think our main competitor, and don’t get me wrong, they are all good horses in there, but I think our main competitor is Doonbeg.”

Doonbeg will start alongside Secluded Island from Post 5, while defending Gold Final champion Stormaway gets Post 3 and the other Gold Elimination winners, Windsong Cruiser and Mister Big, start from Posts 7 and 9.

The talent laden three-year-old pacing colt field will square off in Race 10 on Rideau Carleton Raceway’s Thursday evening program, which gets under way at 6:30 pm.

For complete results please go to:

http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/eridcfth.html#N10