Safe to Say Prevails at the Wire in Bison City
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Photo: Michael Burns
Safe to Say (4) captures the Bison City Stakes at Woodbine
In a nail-biting, three-horse dash to the wire, Gary Barber and Windways Farm's Safe to Say edged her competition to win the $225,000 Bison City Stakes July 1 over the Woodbine Tapeta and claim the second leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara.
It's safe to say trainer Mark Casse is having a good weekend.
Fresh off Wonder Gadot's powerful victory in Saturday's Queens Plate Stakes, Casse was back in the winner's circle Sunday with Canadian-bred Safe to Say, who managed to get up in time to score her second win of the season.
Under jockey Jerome Lermyte, Safe to Say broke well from the gate in the 1 1/16-mile test, settling midpack in the field of seven as Katie Baby took the early lead on the rail. In what looked to be a "catch-me-if-you-can" effort, Katie Baby was virtually unchallenged for the lead, holding steady more than two lengths ahead of her competitors through a mile in 1:12.72.
Coming into the far turn, Avie's Mineshaft made her bid to challenge as the rest of the field closed in on Katie Baby. Running two wide on the far turn, Safe to Say angled out even wider at the top of the stretch and caught the leaders at the 1/16th pole to engage in a hard-charging run to the finish, prevailing by a neck in a final time of 1:44.41.
"We didn't want to get in traffic trouble," Lermyte said. "The race unfolded perfectly. When we asked her, she delivered a nice fight and she went all the way. We are very happy today."
Avie's Mineshaft held for second, with a game Katie Baby in third. Hot Cash, Lunar Garden, Midnight Flash, and Mo Big Cat completed the order of finish.
"I think we kind of picked this out and said this was the race," said Casse, who now has four Bison City wins. "She has improved this year. It was a great ride by Jerome. He's a very good rider. He just tries so hard. I'm proud of her, and I'm proud of him."
Safe to Say entered the Bison City off a third-place finish in the May 19 Selene Stakes (G3) over the same distance at Woodbine. She opened her season with a win in an optional-claiming allowance race, her first victory since breaking her maiden in August.
"She's always been a pretty nice filly, but (we) just couldn't quite find the exact thing for her," said Jeff Begg of Windways Farm. "I think she's a seven-eighths-to-a-mile horse. That's why we passed the Woodbine Oaks and we came here—it's a little shorter. She showed some form on the turf, so we might head that direction as well. She just seems like she's put it together this year."
Bred in Ontario by Bay Ridge Orchards, Safe to Say was purchased by Windways Farm for $72,485 from the Willow Ridge Farm Thoroughbreds consignment to the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Canadian-Bred Yearling Sale. She is 3-0-3 in nine starts, with earnings of $201,497.
Also taking home a stakes win on Sunday's Woodbine card was Ivan Dalos' Silent Sonet, who won the $100,000 Zadracarta Stakes, a seven-furlong turf stakes for Ontario-bred older fillies and mares.
The third choice at odds of 3-1, Silent Sonet broke from the far outside in the field of 10 under jockey Eurico da Silva. Surging to the front in early stretch, the 4-year-old crossed the wire 1 1/4 lengths ahead of the pack in a final time of 1:19.74, just .36 seconds off the track record set by Soaring Free in 2004.