Equity scores 1:59.4 Gold final victory

After finishing in the runner-up position in his last three starts, sophomore trotting colt Equity reclaimed his place in the victor’s chair with a Gold Final triumph at Western Fair Raceway on Friday evening.

 

Equity and regular reinsman Jack Moiseyev lined up at Post 4 in the $130,000 contest and were in high gear early, powering out to a one and three-quarter length lead at the first marker. Through the :29.2 quarter, the 1:00.1 half, and the 1:30.1 three-quarters, Equity sat comfortably at the head of the field. Turning for home, elimination winner Breewood Gringo had closed the gap to three-quarters of a length, but when Moiseyev reached for the accelerator Equity pulled away to a two and a half length victory in 1:59.4.

 

After a tough trip up the outside that saw him circling three-wide at the three-quarter pole, Breewood Gringo settled for second. Magic Spice was eight lengths to the rear in third. Elimination winner and fan favourite Parlay made a series of mistakes that left him at the back of the pack in eighth. The colts competed over a racing surface rated one second slower than normal due to the wet weather.

 

Chris Christoforou of Campbellville trains Equity for his partner Banjo Farms of Toronto. The owners also bred the gifted gelding, who is the fourth foal from their $1 million winning mare Earl Of My Dreams, a stand out in the Ontario Sires Stakes program in her sophomore season.

 

Friday’s Gold Final trophy is the third the gelding has earned this season. He also captured the title at Georgian Downs on July 11 and Mohawk Racetrack on Aug. 6 during an eight race win streak that started with an overnight victory at Mohawk on July 11 and finished on Sept. 17 when the trotter finished second in a Gold Elimination at Rideau Carleton Raceway.

 

Through 16 starts Equity has accumulated 11 wins and four seconds for earnings of $438,820. The gelding’s only out of the money finish came in the season opening Gold Final at Mohawk Racetrack where he was sixth from Post 9.

 

The only other trotting colt to capture a Gold Final this season was I Wont Dance, who claimed the top spot at Mohawk on May 25 and at Rideau Carleton on Sept. 24. I Wont Dance made an early break on Friday that knocked him out of contention.

 

The talented three-year-old trotting colts will now enjoy a five week break from the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit. The top 10 point earners from the five event regular season will meet up for the last time on Nov. 14 at Woodbine Racetrack in their $300,000 Super Final.

 

Ontario Sires Stakes excitement returns to Western Fair Raceway on Monday, Oct. 12 with four $24,000 Grassroots divisions for the two-year-old pacing colts. The freshman pacing colts kick off the afternoon festivities at 3:35 pm. (OSS)