Bessarabian Marks Artie's Princess' Graded Stakes Debut

With four wins and a close second from five starts on the all-weather surface at Woodbine, Artie's Princess will make her graded stakes debut on that familiar ground Nov. 21 in the CA$175,000 Bessarabian Stakes (G2).

The Bessarabian, a seven-furlong test for fillies and mares, has drawn eight entries and will be contested as race 10 on the card.

A homebred for Ken and Sarah Ramsey trained by Wesley Ward, Artie's Princess enters off a dominating victory in the Ruling Angel Stakes against other sophomores Sept. 12 at Woodbine. In that 6 1/2-furlong test, Artie's Princess opened a five-length lead in midstretch and cruised home by 3 3/4 lengths.

The Ontario-bred daughter of We Miss Artie —Stormkeeper, by Stormy Atlantic , will be facing older females in a stakes for the first time, although she did post a four-length win in a June 6 allowance race at Woodbine for fillies and mares 3 and older. In her lone start at seven furlongs, Artie's Princess finished second, a neck back, in last year's Frost King Stakes.

Jockey Kazushi Kimura is scheduled to ride Artie's Princess for the first time Saturday.

Also poised for her graded stakes debut is LNJ Foxwoods' Boardroom, who enters off a three-quarter-length victory in the Duchess Stakes Oct. 3 at Woodbine for trainer Josie Carroll. That win, at the Bessarabian distance, improved the 3-year-old daughter of Commissioner—Money Madness, by Rahy, to three wins from four starts.

Carroll also will send out Painting for her breeder, Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Glenn Sikura, and Windsor Boys Racing. The daughter of Distorted Humor  secured her first graded stakes win Sept. 26 when she rallied to a narrow victory in the Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) at six furlongs on the all-weather surface. Before that race, Painting finished second in four consecutive graded stakes.

She was third in her most recent start behind Amalfi Coast and Souper Escape in the Sweet Briar Too Stakes.

Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Escape will look for her third graded win this season. The 4-year-old Medaglia d'Oro  filly won the Seaway Stakes (G3) and Trillium Stakes (G3) stakes this year at Woodbine.

Gary Barber's Our Secret Agent has recent experience against Boardroom and Artie's Princess. A 3-year-old daughter of Secret Circle , Our Secret Agent finished second to Boardroom in the Duchess and second to Artie's Princess in the Ruling Angel.

Rounding out the field are Amalfi Coast, who enters off a win in the Sweet Briar Too Stakes; Jakarta, who makes her Woodbine debut after finishing third in the Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes (G3T) on the Keeneland turf; and Outburst, a grade 3 winner on turf also making her Woodbine debut.