Wickenheiser Could Honor Namesake in Princess Elizabeth

Wickenheiser  will try to honor her namesake and emulate one particular stablemate when she faces nine other Canadian-bred 2-year-old fillies in the CA$250,000, 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth Stakes Oct. 16 at Woodbine.

Owned by Clay Scherer and Al and Bill Ulwelling and trainer Kevin Attard, Wickenheiser is named after Hayley Wickenheiser, whose many honors include membership in the Hockey Hall of Fame and who currently is an assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The stablemate in question is Moira , who served notice by romping when making her first lifetime start in last year's Princess Elizabeth and has gone on to be by far the dominant local 3-year-old with her tours de force in the Queen's Plate Stakes and Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser.

Wickenheiser, the filly, still has much to prove while making her fourth lifetime start and trying both two turns and Tapeta for the first time.

"She started off her career with a bang, and has been a little disappointing since," said Attard, who sent out Wickenheiser to score impressively in her six-furlong debut but then finish on the fringes when fifth in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes and fourth in the one-mile Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (G1T). "She just hasn't quite taken that kind of step forward we were expecting her to.

"We're putting blinkers on for this race. She hasn't been popping out of the gate, and we're just kind of hoping this will help put her into the race a little earlier as well. I think she's a horse that has a lot of talent—it just kind of hasn't really transferred to the track yet."

Attard is reasonably confident that the longer distance and new surface will not be a disadvantage. She races with Lasix for the first time.

"Two turns shouldn't be an issue, looking at her pedigree," said Attard (Wickenheiser's full siblings include Belichick  and Season Ticket , both effective going long here and both turf and Tapeta). "I think it actually might be a little bit of a benefit to her. And the Tapeta, she's worked well over it, and I'm kind of looking forward to seeing her race on it."

Courtly Ro , also trained by Atttard but owned by Raroma Stable Inc. comes into the Princess Elizabeth in a similar situation with her three career starts coming around one turn on turf.

After closing for third money behind subsequent Catch A Glimpse winner Cairo Consort  in her 6 1/2-furlong debut, Courtly Ro graduated at seven furlongs before ending seventh in the Natalma, 4 1/4 lengths behind Wickenheiser.

"I thought she'd run better in the Natalma as well—she kind of flattened out," said Attard, who had another filly, Last Call , win the race. "I think she's a horse that's definitely going to appreciate two turns. She's another filly that has worked good over the Tapeta surface, and we're looking forward to seeing her run on it. We're hoping to see her take that next step."

Me and My Shadow , back at Woodbine following an encouraging fourth-place finish in Saratoga Race Course's Schuylerville Stakes (G3) at six furlongs, stretches out for the Princess Elizabeth.

Owned by D J Stable and trained by Mark Casse, Me and My Shadow were making just her second start at Saratoga after debuting with a sharp five-furlong score over Woodbine's synthetic surface.

"She's a talented filly," said Casse. "She missed some time. It just took her a little time to get her act back together. She's training well, but I'm asking her to do a fair amount. Hopefully her talent outweighs possibly some of her fitness."

Entries: Princess Elizabeth S.

Woodbine, Sunday, October 16, 2022, Race 8

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $250,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 5:09 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Flysofreeashleeb (ON)	Juan Crawford	119	Patrick Dixon	20/1
2	2Fortyfiveseventy (ON)	Patrick Husbands	119	Barbara J. Minshall	15/1
3	3Bijou Baby (ON)	Declan Carroll	119	Catherine Day Phillips	10/1
4	4Courtly Ro (ON)	Justin Stein	119	Kevin Attard	6/1
5	5Meritamen (ON)	Leo Salles	119	John Mattine	20/1
6	6Me and My Shadow (ON)	Emma-Jayne Wilson	119	Mark E. Casse	2/1
7	7Wickenheiser (ON)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	119	Kevin Attard	5/2
8	8Friends for Life (ON)	Gary Boulanger	119	Stuart C. Simon	8/1
9	9Jumpin Junie (ON)	Kazushi Kimura	119	Daniel J. Vella	10/1
10	10Souper Sinclair (ON)	Keveh Nicholls	119	Philip Hall	12/1