Woodbine Mohawk Park: Cold Creek Queso was the big cheese in OSS Gold Series

The glamour boys wrapped up their Ontario Sires Stakes Gold season on Friday night at Woodbine Mohawk Park with Cold Creek Queso punching his return ticket to the oval for the Super Final on October 15 with an impressive three length win in a C$100,400 division.

Sitting 11th in the season-long standings heading into the night, the Betterthancheddar gelding need a strong performance to qualify for the Super Final. He responded by setting a new lifetime mark of 1:48 3/5, just two tenths off the OSS record, to jump inside the top 10.

With Sylvain Filion driving, Cold Creek Queso tried to make his way to the lead from post five as the field of six left the gate in race six. However, Jody Jamieson and Southside Eddy were more intent on assuming the front, so Filion settled into the pocket position.

"When I saw Jody's horse revved up, I knew he was going to go a good clip, so I just tucked in and followed him until the top of the stretch," said Filion.

Filion's instinct was correct. Southside Eddy led the field through panels of 25 2/5, 53 3/5, and 1:21 2/5 before Filion angled out entering the stretch, and his Murray Brethour trainee flew home for the win.

"I know both horses and I knew he was going to take me a long ways because he's a very fast horse," said Filion. "I was just hoping he'd get a little bit tired, which he did."

Last season Cold Creek Queso won the C$75,000 Grassroots final. This year he'll get a shot at the C$225,000 Super Final for owners Cold Creek Standardbred. He paid $4.40 for the first Gold win of his career.

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The other C$101,300 OSS Gold division went in race three, and St Lads Sterling finished his Gold season the way he started, with a win.

Leaving from post six, Louis-Philippe Roy sent the Control The Moment colt to the front and led the field through a blistering first panel of 25 4/5. Shortly after entering the backstretch, James MacDonald was forced to send pocket- sitter Kolby Two Step past him.

"James was trying at some point just to relax his horse and stay on my back," said Roy. "I felt like he was going to run over me, and he had no choice there. The horse was dictating more what he wanted to do than James was. For sure for me it worked good that way."

MacDonald and Kolby Two Step marched the field through middle panels of 54 2/5 and 1:22 2/5, but were unable to hold on, as St Lads Sterling and Roy found racing room up the inside in the stretch, and drove home to win by a length in 1:49 3/5.

Roy has driven St Lads Sterling for 15 of his 16 starts this season, and felt it was time for the grey colt's luck to change.

"Since the start of the season I feel like he was good, but like I was saying, in the trip we would get second-over then they were flying home or things like this," said Roy. "You look at the lines, he never really raced bad, coming home fast quarters, and just beat two lengths or stuff like this. I feel like tonight the luck was just on his side, and hopefully it's going to be the same in the Super Final."

Jean Tournigy trains St Lads Sterling for Les Ecuries Morel Inc. He paid $6.10 for the win.

--press release (Ontario Sires Stakes)--