by Chris Roberts, Director, Racing Operations, Georgian Downs

Primary Purpose, Oscar Oscar and OK Boromir staked their claims to the C$480,000 Upper Canada Cup earlier tonight, winning their respective elimination dashes at Georgian Downs.

Primary Purpose captured the first elimination in upset fashion, leading from gate to wire to post a half-length victory in 1:54. The British Columbia invader knocked off a pair of UCC early favorites in the form of Trail Boss, who had a tough first-over trip but managed to hold on for third, and Fast Pay, who made a bobble in mid stretch costing him a berth in next week’s final. Primary Purpose is owned by Rod Therres and Charles MacFarlane, both of British Columbia and has been trained by Casie Coleman since shipping to Ontario in April. Longshot Waffles And Cream, making only his first start of the season, closed from last to finish second.

“I got locked in last week and he was going to be very good, so it wasn’t a surprise to see this colt perform so well,” said driver Mark MacDonald. “We were able to get a little breather tonight, but he was strong right to the finish.”

MacDonald struck again in the second split, but this time the result was highly anticipated. Having forked over a C$30,000 supplemental fee in order to compete, the connections of Oscar Oscar came in with high expectations. The precocious colt didn’t disappoint, parked the entire opening quarter mile and then holding the field easily at bay to win by five-lengths in 1:53.3. Owned by Bulletproof Enterprises, the win was the sixth in seven lifetime attempts for Oscar Oscar and pushed his earnings past the $75,000 barrier. Pictonian Pride, who parked the eventual winner in the early stages, finished second, while Surrealist closed well to nab third in his first start of the season.

“He’s been on a roll and I was thrilled to see him bounce back after the break in his last start,” said trainer Tracy Brainard. “We’ve had the horse since early April and he’s been a treat to have in the barn.”

In rein to Luc Ouellette, OK Boromir displayed a take-no-prisoners approach in the third elimination, using his terrific front-end speed to slay his six opponents. Owned by Frank Baker Jr. of Thamesford and Wray & Janet Wilson of Thorndale, Ontario, OK Boromir stopped the clock in 1:53.4 to win his third career race. Fresh off a three-pack of qualifiers, Stonebridge Terror finished second at long odds, while Millionaire Cam closed strongly to complete the triactor.

“He’s got a great turn of foot,” said Ouellette. “He just got caught in his last start, but he was able to hold on tonight. It was pretty windy, so he had a reason to be tired. I was really happy with his race.”

The top three finishers from each elimination will return on May 23 to contest the inaugural Upper Canada Cup final as part of a blockbuster card at Georgian Downs. Post positions were drawn following the last of tonight’s eliminations and appear below:

Post Horse

1 Surrealist

2 OK Boromir

3 Oscar Oscar

4 Waffles And Cream

5 Pictonian Pride

6 Millionaire Cam

7 Trail Boss

8 Stonebridge Terror

9 Primary Purpose

AE1 Fast Pay

AE2 L H Remachable