Windsor Raceway features a second straight night of high-priced racing next Wednesday, October 29, when the three-year-old trotting colts arrive at the border oval to compete for $180,000 in Gold final action one day after their pacing peers.
Only nine colts were entered for the elimination round, so all nine were advanced directly into the final, which will see Define The World defend his Gold final title from Post 4 in the sixth race. The Duke Of York son heads into the rich final off a three week rest since he battled North America's best in the Kentucky Futurity at the famed Red Mile, and trainer John Bax is hoping the gelding is ready for the return to Ontario Sires Stakes action.
"He seems all right. He's had a bit of sickness since, but hopefully he's okay," says Bax. "It's that time of year; the weather's changed so much."
Define The World headed to Kentucky off four straight victories against his Ontario-sired peers, and finished seventh in the first heat and fourth in the second heat of the Futurity, trotting both miles in 1:53.1. Bax and owner Al Libfeld of Pickering were hoping the gelding would make a bigger splash in the Grand Circuit pond, but were satisfied with the way Define The World sprinted home in the last heat.
"Things didn't work out quite the way we hoped," admits Bax, a resident of Peterborough, ON. "Racing the best in the world, and in the first trip we got on the front end. It wasn't the best place to be at Lexington, front end speed has never held up there.
"In the second heat he got in behind one horse that wasn't keeping up, but we were real happy with the way he came home. It was more the effort we were used to," Bax adds.
Bax prepared Define The World for Wednesday's Gold Final with a training trip on Friday, and if the weather cooperates says he may stretch the gelding out one more time before heading to Windsor.
"I blew him out a bit today (Friday), now he'll just be jogging and turned out," says the horseman. "I'll maybe go again with him Monday or Tuesday - clean the pipes out."
Define The World lives outside full time and Bax says the gelding is starting to look a little woolly with the onset of the cooler weather. With 233 points earned through the first four Gold Series events, Define The World has already secured his berth in the November 15 Super Final, which will also mark the end of the gelding's sophomore season.
Divisional point leader B Strike Three returns to Gold final action on Wednesday, after skipping the late September event swept by Define The World. Both colts have claimed two Gold finals this season, and B Strike Three will contest the rubber match from Post 2. The Striking Sahbra son heads into the Final off a third-place finish in an invitational event at Indiana Downs on Oct. 21.
Windsor Raceway raises the curtain on its Wednesday evening program at 7:00 p.m., shining the spotlight on the talented three-year-old trotting colts in Race 6.
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(OSS)