Wellthereyougo will be looking for his third Gold Series victory this Sunday when Ontario's talented two-year-old pacing colts arrive at Rideau Carleton Raceway
for a pair of $40,000 Gold Eliminations.
The defending Gold Final champion, Wellthereyougo heads to Ottawa off a brief sabbatical that was prompted by a pair of tough trips in his elimination and the consolation of the Metro Pace at Mohawk Racetrack.
"He got a couple of rough trips in there. He was boxed in the first week, and parked out the whole way the next," explains Dr. Ian Moore, who conditions the Camluck son for his partners R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, NB and Serge Savard of Saint-Bruno, QC. "We gave him a week off, and he seems good. I'll train him tomorrow (Friday)."
Wellthereyougo's Metro experience netted him an eighth in the elimination and a ninth in the consolation, his only out of the money finishes in nine starts. Since making his debut at the Charlottetown Driving Park on July 2, the colt has posted five wins and one second for earnings of $280,450. The seventh foal from $213,633 winner Cheeky Hanover swept his elimination and the $320,000 final of the Battle of Waterloo at Grand River Raceway in early August, and extended his win streak to four with Gold Elimination and Final victories at Flamboro Downs later in the month.
"He's just got a wonderful attitude," says Charlottetown, PEI resident Moore. "His attitude has taken him a long way. He'll give us all he's got, every time."
Moore and his partners acquired Wellthereyougo from last year's Harrisburg Yearling Sale for $45,000. The colt learned his lessons with ease and spent the winter battling stablemate Malicious in training miles. A son of American sire Bettors Delight who was also a $45,000 purchase at the Harrisburg Sale, Malicious has earned $234,996 through nine freshman starts.
"We were looking for an Ontario-bred and he caught our eye as soon as we saw him," says Moore of Wellthereyougo. "He's a February foal, so he was very mature.
"He could always go with Malicious. They trained together, and when Wellthereyougo was on the front, Malicious couldn't beat him," recalls the horseman. "They were both nice colts in the spring."
With two wins, one second and one fourth in four Gold Series starts, Wellthereyougo leads the two-year-old pacing colt division with 133 points, but Moore says the youngster may not be around for the season ending Super Final. Competing in every Gold Series event between now and the Nov. 14 Super Final would see Wellthereyougo make up to 16 starts, a number Moore feels is too high for a two-year-old.
"With my two-year-olds, I'm just taking it week to week," says the trainer. "He's been going for a while. He'll probably not likely make it to the Super Final."
The colt will have local reinsman John MacDonald in the race bike on Sunday, heading for a third Gold Series victory from Post 2 in the ninth race. The top four finishers from each elimination, plus one fifth-place finisher selected by random draw, will advance to the Sept. 27 Gold Final.
Post time for Rideau Carleton Raceway's Sunday evening program is 6:30 p.m., with the two-year-old pacing colts battling for Gold Elimination glory in Races 9 and 11.
(OSS)
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