Two fillies with local connections earned Gold elimination trophies at Kawartha Downs on Thursday evening as the two-year-old trotting lasses kicked off their Gold Series careers.
Rick Zeron piloted Legzy to a neck victory in the second $40,000 Gold elimination for owner-breeders Edward Wilson of Seagrave and Michael Pozefsky of Saratoga Springs, NY. The half-sister to former OSS star Wilsonator, who earned Wilson and Pozefsky $496,049 during her career, halted the teletimer at 1:59.4 to best Muscle Magic and Charmed Life.
Rob Fellows conditions Legzy and prepped the homebred daughter of Amigo Hall-Sahalee for Thursday’s test with a pair of qualifiers. The filly finished third in her debut at Flamboro Downs on June 15 and then posted a 2:02 win in a June 22 qualifier at Mohawk Racetrack.
Legzy will benefit from Post 2 in next Thursday’s Gold Final, with runner-up Muscle Magic starting from Post 6 in the $130,000 contest.
Zeron will have his choice of mounts in the Gold Final as he also piloted Bee A Magician to a 1:58.4 score in the first elimination for trainer Richard “Nifty” Norman and owners Melvin Hartman of Ottawa, Herb Liverman of Miami Beach, FL and David McDuffee of Delray Beach, FL. The Kadabra daughter, a $90,000 acquisition at the Harrisburg Yearling Sale last fall, caught pacesetter Moms Apple Pie and Massmanian Devil to secure the one and one-half length win.
The other local filly to claim a Gold elimination trophy was John Bax trainee Her Name Is Lola, who fought her way to a half length victory in the last split. The Majestic Son daughter fended off challenger Standing My Ground for the last quarter of the mile, but hung tough to earn the win with a 2:00 clocking. Pocket sitter Brenway Dixie got up for second, leaving Standing My Ground to settle for third.
Peterborough resident Bax shares ownership of Her Name Is Lola with Gaelic Stable of Sharon and Don Allensen of Camlachie. Bax prepped the filly, a $30,000 purchase at Harrisburg, for her Ontario Sires Stakes debut with a June 9 qualifying win at Mohawk Racetrack.
Paul MacDonell engineered Thursday’s victory and will steer Her Name Is Lola from Post 3 in next week’s Gold Final. Runner-up Brenway Dixie gets Post 5.
The other Gold trophy went to Tymal Tessa, the only fan favourite to deliver the goods in the four eliminations. With trotting specialist Trevor Ritchie at the helm, Tymal Tessa cruised along on the front end to a one and one-quarter length triumph in 2:01, besting Candida and Bop Too The Top.
Chris Beaver conditions Tymal Tessa for Synerco Ventures Inc. of Toronto. The daughter of Kadabra and Yoko Hanover was a $47,000 purchase at last fall’s Forest City Yearling Sale.
Here's the post position draw for next Thursday's final:
$130,000 OSS GOLD SERIES FINAL
1. Moms Apple Pie
2. Legzy
3. Her Name Is Lola
4. Tymal Tessa
5. Brenway Dixie
6. Muscle Magic
7. Candida
8. Massmanian Devil
9. Bee A Magician
(OSS)
To view results for Thursday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Thursday Results – Kawartha Downs.