Blond Me Sweeps to E. P. Taylor Victory

Running twice unsuccessfully in the U.S. in 2015, Blond Me was back in full force when she battled with Kitten's Roar in the Woodbine stretch and pulled off a win the $500,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) Oct. 15. 

Racing second to last in the field of seven fillies and mares, Blond Me made a sweeping move on the final turn to win by one length. It was the first top-level win for the Irish-bred Tamayuz (GB) mare, who is trained by Andrew Balding and owned by Barbara Keller. 

"Well, it was a big wish of mine to come back and hopefully win the race, and Blond Me was good enough," said Keller, who campaigned group 1 winner Odeliz, runner-up in the 2014 E. P. Taylor by a half-length.

"You always get sick when you see the opposition because you think, 'Oh my god, they're so good.' But her form this year in England was fabulous—she was second to Winter on really bad ground (in the group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes) and she beat Hydrangea (fourth in the Nassau), who was a subsequent group 1 winner.

"We knew she could handle this ground. But the race is never won until it's won, and we knew in her Paris form that something had happened, and Oisin Murphy pulled her up (last in the group 1 Qatar Prix Vermeille), he looked after her. And he did a wonderful job today, and we're just over the moon to be here in Canada and to have won the race."

In Sunday's 1 1/4-mile turf test, Quidura seized the early lead but was outrun by Rainha Da Bateria on the first turn, as Kitten's Roar stalked in third, then second. Blond Me and Rain Goddess, two of the three European invaders, raced at the rear of the field. Rainha Da Bateria set fractions of :26.72, :52.20, and 1:17.20 under Julien Leparoux.

As the field moved around the final turn, Blond Me was still near the back and Kitten's Roar moved around Rainha Da Bateria to take the lead. Oisin Murphy maneuvered Blond Me between horses in the stretch, pulled her wide, and set aim on Kitten's Roar. With a strong turn of foot, Blond Me ran down the leader and took over in the final strides. Kitten's Roar attempted to battle back, but had to settle for second. The final time was 2:08.08 on the soft turf. 

A closing Fourstar Crook secured third with an inside run, 1 1/2 lengths back from Kitten's Roar. Rainha Da Bateria held for fourth with favored Nezwaah in fifth. Quidura and Rain Goddess completed the order of finish. 

The winner returned $18.90, $8.30, and $5.70 across the board. 

Blond Me made a trip to the U.S. in 2015, when she finished second in the Sands Point Stakes (G2T) at Belmont Park and then ran off the board in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland.

The mare has had a tough campaign this year. After winning the Betfred Middleton Stakes (G2) at York in May, she finished 1 1/2 lengths behind dual-One Thousand Guineas-winner Winter in the Aug. 3 Qatar Nassau Stakes. Last out, she finished 11th after stumbling mid-race in the Sept. 10 Qatar Prix Vermeille. 

Bred by Wardstown Stud in Ireland, out of the Docksider mare Holda (IRE), Blond Me was purchased by her trainer for $109,862 at the 2013 Tattersalls October yearling sale. With a six wins and five seconds from 17 starts, she improved her earnings to $1,019,799.