Blair Burgess trainee,
Friendly Amigo, with Burgess in the bike,
took the early lead from the far inside with
Jody Jamieson tucking Novelty AS into the
pocket spot, but soon after Novelty AS made
a break and took herself out of the action.
By the 3/8 pole, Paul MacDonell sent 1-9
favourite
Elusive Desire up from third to take
command, and the pair opened up an
authoritative two-length lead with the rest
of the field struggling in their wake.
Friendly Amigo hung on in second until
mid-stretch, when she faded to an eventual
ninth, and Mario Baillargeon sent Cuddler
ahead to capture second, with Ill Wait For
You (Trevor Ritchie) behind her for third,
but it was Elusive Desire who finished four
lengths in front. She stopped the clocks in
1:54.1, shaving three-fifths of a second off
the old stakes record set by the
incomparable Peaceful Way in 2004.
Elusive Desire, a three-year-old daughter of Angus Hall, out of the Valley Victory mare, Valley Amber, is trained by Mike Keeling for P C Wellwood Enterprises, Bob Fasken, and Charlie Armstrong. This was her seventh win in 11 tries this season and improves her earnings to $829,714. She was recently third by a mere head in the Hambletonian Oaks, and based on her earnings was awarded a bye to the SBOA Stakes final, giving her a week off during last Friday�s eliminations.
�She really doesn�t get tired,� commented MacDonell. �You ask her at the head of the lane and she usually responds. She did again tonight.
�She loves to race so much I don�t think it really mattered whether she had to race last week or not. She went nine straight weeks and on the ninth week she was just as fresh as she was the first week. That�s just the kind of filly she is. She doesn�t do much all week as far as training; I know Mike [Keeling] is pretty easy on her and gives her a lot of paddock time. She does her thing on the racetrack.�
Asked to name Elusive Desire�s best assets, MacDonell didn�t hesitate to sing her praises. �She�s so resilient,� he began. �The trot comes easy to her, she doesn�t work hard at it, and she just loves to race. Behind the gate is the only time she really picks up the lines and goes.
�She and Bella Dolce [who won this stake last year for MacDonell] are very similar. Both of them seem to be dominating their divisions. I think this filly is more reliable than Bella was � she jumped it off a few times when she shouldn�t have and cost herself some money, while [Elusive Desire] I don�t think has ever made a break. She�s a very reliable filly.�