Grand River Raceway will be the testing ground for 41 freshman trotting fillies on Monday evening, and Gary Brown is hoping Tortes Finale is among the
successful candidates for a long term berth in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series.
“I’m hoping she can do some good up there,” says the Guelph resident, who bred, owns and trains Tortes Finale. “She’s probably more a Grassroots filly, but if you’re going to try the Gold you might as well do it at Grand River.”
Tortes Finale will make her career debut from Post 4 in the third $40,000 Gold Elimination, and heads into the race off a June 22 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack that saw her circle the seven-eighths mile oval in 2:04.3. That effort earned the filly her shot at Gold Series glory, and while he is unsure how she will rank against her provincial peers, Brown is confident Tortes Finale can deliver an equally sold performance over Grand River’s half-mile oval.
“That’s all she knows. She trained down on a half-mile track, so she’s not going to be bothered by it,” says the horseman. “Grand River’s a nice place to race.”
Since she was a foal, Brown has been hoping Tortes Finale would one day find her way to the Ontario Sires Stakes program. An effortless trotter, the daughter of Son Of Grace and Tender Torte learned her early lessons without a struggle and made it easy for Brown to send in the entry for Monday’s Gold Elimination.
“Right from the very beginning she moved the right way,” recalls Brown. “You know when you have one that’s natural, rather than one that struggles. She did everything right from the beginning.”
Scott Zeron piloted the filly in her qualifier and will be back in the race bike on Monday. Among the young trotters the pair will face in the fourth race is Robert Stewart Stakes runner-up Sooner Than Later, who will start from Post 1. Like Tortes Finale, the other six starters also head into the provincial contest straight from a qualifier.
Race 6 features two winners from the July 5 Robert Stewart Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack, Exquisitelycrafted and First Avenue. Exquisitelycrafted was a two and a half length winner in 1:59.1 for trainer Bob McIntosh of Windsor, Dave Boyle of Bowmanville and C S X Stables of Liberty Center, OH, while First Avenue logged a 2:00 victory by one and one-quarter lengths for Richard Nault of Montreal, QC. The fillies will line up at Posts 2 and 6 respectively.
With five Gold Eliminations, only the top two finishers from each one will return to Grand River Raceway for the July 20 Gold Final. The other 31 fillies will head home to regroup and prepare for the second Gold Series event on August 3 at Mohawk.
Post time for Monday’s Ontario Sires Stakes laden contest is 7 p.m., with the two-year-old trotting fillies making their provincial debuts in Races 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8.
(OSS)
To view Monday’s harness racing entries, click here.