Flamboro Downs fans are in for a treat on Sunday evening as 59 of the province’s most talented freshman trotters and pacers converge on the Dundas oval for Gold elimination action

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A total of 22 pacing colts will battle in three $40,000 eliminations, with the top three finishers from each elimination advancing to next weekend’s Gold final, while an impressive line up of 37 trotting colts will compete in five eliminations, meaning only the top two from each split will earn a return ticket for the $130,000 Gold final.

Grassroots winner Scotty Doesnt Know makes the leap into the Gold Series from Post 5 in the fourth trotting colt elimination, and trainer John Drennan is hoping the youngster can continue to make finding the winner’s circle look easy.

“One of the owners is a guy who has been to the races a few times, but never owned a horse before, and he thinks this is pretty easy now. Hopefully it continues,” says Drennan, who shares ownership on the gelding with new owner David Jeffs of Inglewood and veteran owner Terry West of Burlington. “Basically he’s just very sound, has a great attitude and is good gaited.”

The Burlington resident and his partners acquired Scotty Doesnt Know from Ron Waples on July 17 and the Malabar Maple son promptly went out and posted an impressive 2:00.3 victory in the July 21 Grassroots season opener, the fastest mile of the six provincial divisions contested at Georgian Downs.

“I just jogged him for a couple days and then put him in to go,” recalls Drennan. “I didn’t know how fast he would go.”

Waples and Drennan both stable at Mohawk Racetrack and Drennan had watched Scotty Doesnt Know train all winter before approaching Waples about purchasing the gelding. Initially the response was negative as Waples had another potential buyer interested in the trotter, but when that did not come to fruition Drennan and his partners jumped at the opportunity to acquire Scotty Doesnt Know.

“I just knew that he was a good gaited colt and he never made a mistake all winter,” notes Drennan. “We got lucky and were able to buy him.

“He’s a big horse, he looks like a three-year-old. He’s got good bone. He’s a really nice individual.”

Waples has continued to drive the gelding, and will be back in the race bike on Sunday as Scotty Doesnt Know squares off against four Gold Series veterans and two other colts making the leap up from the Grassroots. In preparation for the Gold test, Drennan schooled the gelding behind the gate last week and will give him one last training mile on Friday.

“I schooled him last Friday, just because he’s still a little green behind the gate and we wanted to get some work into him,” explains the trainer. “I’ll blow him out a little tomorrow (Friday) and then take him over to Flamboro and see what happens.”

Only the top two finishers from each trotting colt Gold elimination will return to Flamboro Downs for their $130,000 Gold Final, part of the Dundas oval’s Confederation Cup program on Aug. 16. The trotting colt eliminations are slated as Races 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9, while the pacing colt eliminations go postward in Races 1, 5, and 7. The top three finishers from the pacing colt splits will participate in their Aug. 16 Gold Final.

Post time for Flamboro Downs’s Sunday evening program is 6 p.m.

To view Sunday's harness racing results, click here.

(OSS)