Two-year-old trotting fillies made their way to Woodbine Racetrack on Thursday evening to spar in a set of OSS Gold Series eliminations, and a suddenly-streaking Miss Paris was untouchable again
.
Miss Paris floated off the gate and tucked into an early three-hole as per the orders of driver Scott Zeron, while Twin B Sensation and Frisky Strike exchanged punches past the quarter pole in :28.2. The latter brushed to the top, but it was a short-lived lead. Heavily favoured Miss Paris challenged that leader to the half in :58.4 before the chalk trotted to the top. The 1-9 choice led the field to the three-quarter pole in 1:29 before using a :28.3 closing kick to win by 2-3/4 lengths over Racing Dreams in 1:57.3. Taking home third prize was Frisky Strike.
“This is the best she has ever been,” said driver Zeron. “’Nifty’ [trainer Richard ‘Nifty’ Norman] made a few equipment changes and she finally put it all together tonight. She would run out down the stretch into the four-wide path and would be tough to drive, but not tonight. She has been getting better and better lately with every start. Right now, I wouldn’t trade her for any other Ontario-sired two-year-old trotting filly.”
The daughter of Kadabra-Pizza Dolce improved her freshman report card to 5-2-1 in 10 tries while increasing her cash stash to $221,437. The rookie is owned by Mel Hartman of Ottawa, ON along with Florida partners Herb Liverman of Miami Beach and David McDuffee of Delray Beach.
Circles barely broke a sweat in the other $40,000 elimination for the tandem of trainer John Smith and driver Jacques Hebert. The hall-of-fame reinsman stalked Counter Pointe past the quarter pole in :27.4 before pulling the pocket and brushing Circles to the top. She was in command of middle splits of :58 and 1:27.4, and then drew away from the competition by using a :29.1 final frame. Counter Pointe was and Cool Creek Breeze finished third in the 1:57 performance, which matched Circles’ lifetime mark.
The homebred daughter of Majestic Son-Merles Image, who is owned by John Smith Racing Stb Inc of Woodlawn, ON, now owns a 6-3-0 record from nine trips postward. The $20,000 payday bumped her earnings to $262,500.
The top five finishers from each of Thursday’s eliminations will return to Woodbine Racetrack for next Thursday’s final. Here’s how they’ll line up behind the starting gate:
$130,000 OSS Gold Series Final
1. Circles
2. Racing Dreams
3. Frisky Strike
4. Counter Pointe
5. Cool Creek Breeze
6. Justasmalltowngirl
7. Miss Paris
8. Radical Dreamer
9. Twin B Sensation
10. Phoenix Goal
(With quotes from WEG)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Woodbine Racetrack.