Lady Grace Speeds to Victory in True North
Image:
Description:
Photo: Michael Burns
Lady Grace wins the True North Stakes at Woodbine
Lady Grace and jockey Kazushi Kimura just missed the track record, taking the CA$175,700 (US$129,364) Royal North Stakes (G2T) in 1:06.90 July 18 at Woodbine.
The six-furlong record for the E.P. Taylor Turf Course is 1:06.88, set by Kasuga on July 7, 2017.
Tracy Farmer's Lady Grace led a Mark Casse exacta worth $131.20 in the co-feature for fillies and mares, with 11-1 shot Eyeinthesky and Patrick Husbands finishing a close second.
Making her graded stakes debut, Lady Grace settled off the pace near the back of the pack and staged a late rally between rivals to pull off the mild 6-1 upset and return $14.80 to win.
A third-place finisher in last year's William D. Graham Memorial Stakes at Woodbine, Lady Grace entered the Royal North fresh off a three-length victory in a six-furlong allowance-level turf sprint three weeks ago.
"Last time winning with her, the filly was such a nice horse," Kimura said. "I'm not surprised today.
"Last time I went to the front, but today there were so many speed horses to the front side, I just changed my mind, sat behind, stalking from behind, then she came flying today."
The favorites were on top, led by Sister Peacock through panels of :21.91 and :43.50. Her popular stablemate Summer Sunday, Canada's reigning champion female sprinter, pressed the pace with supplemental entry Gamble's Candy three wide and Foxxy Belle stalking along the rail.
The late closers, however, stole the show. Lady Grace came flying by to prevail by three-quarters of a length, with Gary Barber's Eyeinthesky, who closed from midpack, edging Bohemian Bourbon, Charmaine's Mia, and Sister Peacock for runner-up honors.
It was 3 1/4 lengths back to Foxxy Belle, with Summer Sunday and Gamble's Candy rounding out the order.
Bred in Florida by William Schettine and William Haines, the 4-year-old Kantharos filly out of the Beau Genius mare Smart Sis is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Sis City. She is the 25th black-type winner sired by Kantharos.
Kimura, who was named outstanding apprentice jockey in both Canada and the United States last year, picked up his first graded stakes victory. He was the top turf rider and won a total of 146 races in 2019 to place third in Woodbine's overall jockey standings. While his apprenticeship ended last October, the talented rider is fourth on the leaderboard with 23 wins in a close race through the first 24 race days of the current meet.
Souper Escape Makes the Grade in Trillium
Live Oak Plantation's Souper Escape gave her filly and mare foes the slip in the CA$125,000 (US$92,035) Trillium Stakes (G3) to earn her first graded stakes victory.
The Michael Trombetta trainee was an impressive 1:42.78 winner in the main track event, coming close to the 1:42.16 track record for 1 1/16 miles held by recently retired Freitag.
"When she came out from the gate, she was so nice and relaxed, it looked like it was kind of easy, but she was all game today," said winning jockey Luis Contreras, who was bracing for the competition to come. "When I turned for home, I had so much horse and she just kept rolling."
Souper Escape draws away in the Trillium Stakes at Woodbine
Souper Escape set fractions of :24.93 to the quarter, :48.65 to the half, and 1:11.76 while widening her lead to three-quarters. Another Time and Theodora B. were her closest rivals three lengths behind after Nantucket Red leveled off when attempting a three-wide bid down the backside.
Souper Escape opened up six lengths down the lane and ended with 4 1/2 lengths to spare as Painting, who trailed the seven-horse field through the first half-mile, rallied into second-place and finished 3 1/4 lengths clear of show finisher Another Time.
Art of Almost, Wings of Dawn, Theodora B., and Nantucket Red rounded out the order of finish.
Souper Escape paid $7.50 to win as the slight 5-2 second choice.
The 4-year-old homebred daughter of Medagalia d'Oro out of the Street Cry mare Cry and Catch Me also counts the 2019 La Lorgnette Stakes, her only other start on Tapeta, among her five wins from 15 starts. Saturday's victory boosted her bankroll to $213,383.
Contreras and Trombetta have already teamed up for a stakes win this season with Newstome in the Woodstock Stakes.
Video: Royal North S. (G2T)