Kadabra Colts Take Two Of Three Gold Elims
Sons of Kadabra took two of three $40,000 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold eliminations for two-year-old colt and gelding trotters on Saturday night at Woodbine Racetrack.
The results also led to some shuffling in the OSS points standings, setting the stage for an interesting final next Saturday where many colts will be looking to qualify for the lucrative OSS Super Finals on November 15 at Woodbine.
In Saturday's opening contest, Lemon Candy (Steve Condren) sat near the back of the pack for much of the mile before beginning his outside advance in the second half. As the field neared three-quarters, the son of Kadabra - Lemon Mill had made his way up alongside the pacesetting Winning Mister in 1:27.4.
Winning Mister (Randy Waples), who had been parked for much of the first half, gave way as the field turned into the stretch and Lemon Candy easily powered to the lead and widened his advantage to 4-1/2 lengths at the finish in 1:57.1. Pointe Of Honour (Paul MacDonell) picked up the place spot with Hibbler (Jody Jamieson) rallying to finish third.
It was just the second win in six starts this season for the Anette Lorentzon trainee who is owned by Acl Stuteri Ab of Paris, Kentucky. The winner's share of the purse boosted his bankroll to just over $52,000 and the colt - who sat 11th in the OSS points standings coming in - earned an important 50 points towards a qualifying position for the $300,000 Super Final.
In the second split, heavily favoured Striking Lindsey (Jody Jamieson) used similar off-the-pace tactics to haul down pacesetter Senator Hall (Doug Ackerman) in the late stages for a 1:58.3 tally. The son of Striking Sahbra - Lindsey Fireyimage was 1-1/4 lengths better than Senator Hall with Mapleson (Roger Mayotte) another 10 lengths back in the show position.
It was the second win in 11 tries this season for the Gregg McNair pupil who is owned by Kenneth Sommer of Sheffield, Ohio. The win vaulted him past $130,000 in seasonal earnings.
The lightly raced Kingsbury picked up an important victory in the final elimination for Paul MacDonell in 1:58.2. The son of Kadabra - R First Inquirer took the early lead, yielded and then came back out in the stretch to overtake Illusionsndreams (Tom Durand) with Play Right (Mark MacDonald) following in for third.
It was the first taste of OSS Gold competition for Kingsbury, who was making just his fourth career start for owner Paula Wellwood who also does the training. The 50 points for winning will give the colt an opportunity to advance to the Super Finals with another good result in next week's last Gold Final of the season.
Here is a look at the field for next week's $120,000 Gold Final:
1 – Play Right
2 – Hibbler
3 – Mopey Corey
4 – Illusionsndreams
5 – Senator Hall
6 – Pointe Of Honour
7 – Lemon Candy
8 – Mapleson
9 – Kingsbury
10 – Striking Lindsey
AE1 – Northern Illusion
AE2 – Mr Escadar
AE3 – Dr Cal
To view Saturday's results, click here.
(With files from WEG)