The Ontario Sires Stakes rolled into Rideau Carleton Raceway on Sunday evening, with three-year-old pacing colts and geldings slugging it a trio of $40,000 Gold
Series eliminations.
Brad Forward went coast-to-coast in the opening elimination with Primary Purpose, who froze the teletimer in 1:54.1 for British Columbia partners Rod Therres of Surrey and Charles MacFarlane of Victoria.
The son of Cammibest – Sing Mitzi For Me strolled through splits of :28, :58.2 and 1:27 before sprinting home in :27.1 to seal the deal by four lengths. My Gift To You tagged along to finish second, and Mild Mannered was third. Heavily favoured Oscar Oscar made multiple breaks and finished sixth.
Casie Coleman trains Primary Purpose, who is now a three-time winner in nine starts this season. The $20,000 payday bumped his cash stash to $177,199.
Driver Paul MacDonell and trainer Dave Menary joined forces to take the second elimination with Fast Pay, who crushed his pacing counterparts by a seven-length margin in a time of 1:53.2.
The son of Western Terror – Speedy Shopper watched Blue Suede Shoes and Electric Energy take turns on the lead through early panels of :28.2 and :57 before blasting to the position of command. And once he brushed to the top it was game over. He sprinted to the three quarter pole in 1:24.3 and used a :28.4 final frame to post the win over Shady Cam and Blue Suede Shoes.
Fast Pay, who was sent off as the 6/5 favourite, has put together a 2-1-0 record in his first four starts of the 2009 season after constructing a 2-3-1 resume in 10 starts as a rookie. Larry Menary, Denis Breton, Phil Silvestri and Joseph Settimi share ownership on the colt, who has banked more than $103,000 to date.
After a traffic-troubled trip led to a sixth-place finish in the $480,000 Upper Canada Cup at Georgian Downs on May 23, OK Boromir had nothing but open road in front of him in his Gold Series elimination on Sunday night.
Mark MacDonald mapped out the front-stepping score with the son of No Pan Intended – Double Crème, who sat the pocket to the :28.1 quarter before slipping to the front and posting remaining fractions of :56.4 and 1:24.3 en route to the 1:52.3 victory. He used a :28-second final quarter to win by a head over Stonebridge Terror. L H Remachable was third.
Trained by Frank Baker, Jr., who also co-owns the colt with Wray and Janet Wilson of Thorndale, ON, OK Boromir notched his second win of the season in just four trips postward. He banked just over $102,000 last season, and has potted just over $38,000 in 2009 to bring his overall bankroll to $141,050.
The top three finishers from each of Sunday’s eliminations will advance to next Sunday’s Gold Series final. Here's how they'll line up on the starting gate:
$130,000 OSS Gold Series Final
1. Mild Mannered
2. Blue Suede Shoes
3. Fast Pay
4. Shady Cam
5. OK Boromir
6. Stonebridge Terror
7. L H Remachable
8. Primary Purpose
9. My Gift To You
To view Sunday’s results, click here.