El Bayern First Black-Type Winner for Bayern
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Photo: Michael Burns
El Bayern wins the Muskoka Stakes at Woodbine
Stacey Van Camp's El Bayern made her debut a winning one in the CA$250,800 (US$191,482) Muskoka Stakes Aug. 30 at Woodbine with a late charge to defeat favorites For My Elbi and Ms Wicked in the shadow of the wire.
Overcoming the outside post 10, El Bayern went from last to first under jockey Sheena Ryan for the 23-1 upset. She ran the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:18.91 and finished one length in front for trainer Michael Mattine.
"To be honest, I didn't love the 10 hole," Ryan said. "I don't think anyone loves that post with a first-timer, but we've done a lot of work with the filly, and Mike and Stacey and their team have done a good job getting her ready, so I figured we've got a shot.
"Everybody was going (at the start), and I thought I'd just save some ground because we're way out there. She got some good (racing) experience, got some (Tapeta) in the face, and she didn't even care, she just drove into it. She came around and finished like she does in her works, so I was really impressed."
Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Farms, the Bayern filly is the first black-type winner for her sire. Consigned by her breeder to the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) Canadian-bred Yearling Sale, El Bayern was purchased by Van Camp for US$6,013. She is out of the Schossberg mare El Tara and is a half sister to Quidi Vidi, who was the runner-up in the 2014 Muskoka Stakes.
Bayern, the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner of 2014, retired to stand at Hill 'n' Dale in 2016 for a $15,000 fee, which has remained unchanged through his five seasons at stud. Bred in Kentucky by Helen Alexander out of the Thunder Gulch mare Alittlebitearly, the son of Offlee Wild earned more than $4.4 million with a 6-1-3 record in 15 starts for owner Kaleem Shah and trainer Bob Baffert. His other graded wins came in the William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), Pennsylvania Derby (G2), and Woody Stephens Stakes (G2).