Chancey Lady clocks track record in London Gold Final

A Fiesty Affair rocketed around the Western Fair Raceway on Friday evening, but her stablemate Chancey Lady breezed by in the stretch to claim the Gold Final title and a three-year-old pacing filly track record.

Brad Forward fired A Fiesty Affair out of Post 5 in the $140,000 Gold Final, reaching the quarter in :27.1, the same opening fraction the filly posted in her elimination win last Friday. This week, however, the field did not allow A Fiesty Affair to gain a seven length advantage with her quick early speed. Belka Hanover was hot on her heels in second and Chancey Lady dropped onto the rail in third.

At the :55.4 half, A Fiesty Affair was still on top by one and three-quarter lengths with the field strung out behind her, but by the 1:24 three-quarters Chancey Lady had stepped to the outside and was looking her stablemate in the eye. Turning for home A Fiesty Affair was hanging on by a slim margin, but when driver Mark MacDonald asked Chancey Lady to shift into high gear the fan favourite powered down the stretch to steal the three-quarter length victory in a track record 1:52.2.

A Fiesty Affair gave trainer Casie Coleman 75 per cent of the $140,000 purse with her game runner-up performance, and Belka Hanover picked up her second straight third-place cheque, hitting the wire three lengths behind the duelling stablemates.

The mile eclipsed the former three-year-old pacing filly track record of 1:53.1 set by Jans Luck in the first Gold Series event of the 2007 season.

Cambridge resident Coleman conditions Chancey Lady for Niele Jiwan of Burnaby, BC. Through three starts this season Chancey Lady now boasts a record of two wins and one fourth for earnings of $92,000. Combined with her freshman earnings, the daughter of Camluck and Art Of Design has banked a cool $442,340 for her west coast owner.

Robert Hamather of Exeter bred and owns A Fiesty Affair, a Grassroots finalist at two who has clearly earned an ongoing ticket to the Gold Series with last week’s elimination win and this week’s gritty runner-up performance.

Many of the top fillies will now turn their attention to the Fan Hanover Eliminations at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday, June 7, before returning to Ontario Sires Stakes action at Georgian Downs on June 21.

Once the sophomore pacing fillies finished impressing the Western Fair crowd on Friday, all eyes turned to Race 10 and the $280,000 Molson Pace Final. After Chancey Lady’s impressive victory, fans sent the Mark MacDonald driven, Casie Coleman trained, Tigerama off as their top choice, but the pair were unable to complete the double.

MacDonald and Tigerama carved all the fractions, but in the cavalry charge to the wire it was Eagle Luck and Trevor Henry — last season’s top Ontario Sires Stakes reinsman — who garnered the half length victory in 1:51.1. The former Ontario Sires Stakes competitor was the longest shot on the board.

Western Fair Raceway will play host to it’s third Ontario Sires Stakes event of the season this Monday, June 2, when the three-year-old trotting fillies kick off their 2008 Grassroots season. (OSS)

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