Our Flash Drive, Lorena Shine at Woodbine

Trainer Mark Casse continued his Selene Stakes (G3) win streak as Live Oak Plantation's homebred Our Flash Drive  took command on the final turn and drove clear to win the CA$156,000 (US$125,340) co-feature for 3-year-old fillies July 10 at Woodbine.  

Casse earned his fourth consecutive victory in the event, with Patrick Husbands engineering the winning trip aboard the Florida-bred daughter of Ghostzapper  . 

Stretching out to 1 1/16 miles on the main track, Our Flash Drive stalked the front-running California Lily  early on before moving up to press the pace after opening fractions of :24.78 and :49.03. With Husbands signaling it was go time past the 1:12.87 three-quarters mark, Our Flash Drive overtook the pacesetter and took off down the lane to win by 2 1/4 lengths in a final time of 1:44.69 on a fast track.  

Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser eligible Munnyfor Ro , who broke outward, rallied home from the backfield to take the runner-up honors under Justin Stein. It was another 2 1/4 lengths back to third-place finisher Sweet Souper Sweet , another Live Oak homebred trained by Michael Trombetta, who finished three lengths ahead of California Lily. Gote Go  followed in fifth and the Casse-trained Danger  was eased up and completed the order of finish. The connections of Il Malocchio , who was cross-entered in the Selene, opted to compete in the Fury Stakes two races later. 

Sent postward as the odds-on favorite, Our Flash Drive returned $4.70 on a $2 win ticket. Now 2-for-4 lifetime, she boasts back-to-back wins at Woodbine after breaking her maiden at third asking June 19 at the Ontario track. Her career earnings stand at $110,744.

Our Flash Drive went to the sideline in August of 2020 after running fourth in her second start at Saratoga Race Course off a seventh upon debut there. The June 19 maiden event was her first race of the season. She is the second starter and second winner out of the Dynaformer mare Dynamotor, who also has an unraced 2-year-old Hard Spun   colt named Engine's Ready and an unnamed yearling filly by Ghostzapper, and delivered a filly by Omaha Beach   March 31.

Casse, who has won the Selene a total of seven times, has teamed with Husbands to take four editions of the race. They combined for past wins with Dark Ending (2001), Dixie Strike (2012), and Miss Mo Mentum  (2018). 

Lorena Shows Way to Fury Victory

Undefeated 3-year-old Lorena  led all the way to win the CA$125,000 (US$100,434) Fury Stakes Saturday, keeping her perfect record intact for trainer and co-owner Stu Simon. 

Leading a field of Canadian-bred fillies through a quarter-mile in :23.57 and half-mile :46.82, Lorena turned back her late challengers to win the seven-furlong sprint in 1:23.94 beneath the hot-handed Gary Boulanger.  

Through the turn, Lorena rebuffed Owen's Tour Guide , who also entered the Fury with a 2-for-2 record, and then held the late-rallying Astrological  at bay down the stretch to defeat that foe by three-quarters of a length. Less than a length behind, Curlin's Catch  completed a 2-3 finish for Casse.  

Lorena paid $3.90 on a $2 win ticket as the 4-5 favorite. She increased her career earnings to $114,266.

Il Malocchio finished four lengths back in fourth with Bodacious Miss , Owen's Tour Guide, and El Bayern  rounding out the order of finish. 

"I thought that she broke well, and she seemed to make the lead rather easily," said Simon, who co-owns the Souper Speedy   filly with Brent and Russell McLellan and former jockey Gerry Olguin. "She was setting sensible fractions and looked comfortable, so I wasn't worried about where she was at." 

Simon said he is still mulling over whether the Ontario-bred will head to the Woodbine Oaks, scheduled for Aug. 1 at Woodbine. 

"I hate to put too much on a young horse's plate, so we'll take it under careful consideration," he said. "She's an awfully good filly," he added. "She ranks right up there with all of them. I think we've been fortunate to get some good young horses and it's worked out well." 

Bred in Ontario by Dr. Liam Gannon out of the Hat Trick mare Negotiable, Lorena was a US$37,580 purchase by her current connections from Richard G. Hogan's consignment to the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division)'s 2019 Canadian-Bred Yearling Sale. She is the first black-type winner for her dam, who has two winners from two starters. The mare has an unraced Dialed In   juvenile filly named Not Negotiable and dropped a Competitive Edge   colt April 26.

It was a banner day for Boulanger, who had a grand slam on the 11-race program. 

"It's everything that we work for and that we want," said the veteran reinsman, who picked up the mount on Lorena when making his comeback from injury this season. "Everybody wants to do well, especially coming back from injuries, but sometimes it's harder to get back into that light. I've been fortunate to be involved with some great people that have given me the opportunities, like Stu and everybody else, and it's a lot of fun just getting back." 

Video: Selene S. (G3)

Video: Fury S. (BT)