Golden Vision, a 6-year-old daughter of Court Vision-Good as Gold, looks to defend her title in Sunday's $100,000 Ballade Stakes at Woodbine.
A six-furlong main track event for Ontario Sired fillies & mares, 4-year-olds and upward, the Ballade has attracted a competitive field of 13 starters.
Trained by Tino Attard for owners/breeders Elizabeth and Gordon Lickrish, Golden Vision rallied to take last year's running by a half-length at 6-1.
Although the dark bay hasn't returned to the winner's circle since that score, the lifetime winner of five races from 19 starts has finished in the top four over her past four engagements.
Golden Vision arrives at the Ballade off a runner-up effort on May 14, finishing strongly in the six-furlong main track race won by Spanish Ballerina (third in last year's race), whom she'll meet again on Sunday.
“She ran a very good race,” said Attard, who has 1,365 career wins. “She came into that race well and she's coming into this one in really good order too. She's been training well and hopefully she can do what she did in this race last year.”
Launching her career on December 1, 2018, Golden Vision won her debut, rallying from eighth of 12 at the half-mile call to take the six-furlong main track race by a length, in what was her only start of the season.
She would finish in the top four in her first nine starts, including a fourth in the Passing Mood, her first stakes try, and a third in the La Prevoyante Stakes, both in 2019.
“From day one, she has been a really nice horse for us,” said Attard. “She's one of those horses you love to have because she tries hard every time. She has a big heart. Around the barn, she's very quiet. When she races, she's a very honest horse. She's always been very consistent.”
Golden Vision could join Barlee Mist (1999-2000), Mysterious Affair (2001-02) and Brass in Pocket (2003-04) as back-to-back winners of the Ballade.
Other starters include multiple stakes winner Lorena, graded stakes winner Artie's Princess, and 2020 South Ocean Stakes winner Jilli Marie.
The race is part of Ontario Racing's Thoroughbred Improvement Program Ontario Sired Stakes Program. For more information on the program, click here.
The Ballade is race seven on Sunday's 10-race card. First post time is 1:10 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
$100,000 BALLADE STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – November Fog – Antonio Gallardo – Sarah Ritchie
2 – Red Equinox – Luis Contreras – Jamie Attard
3 – Jilli Marie – Rafael Hernandez – Katerina Vassilieva
4 – Hello Friends – Emma-Jayne Wilson – John LeBlanc, Jr.
5 – Mrs. Del – Skye Chernetz – Jordan Lay
6 – Golden Vision – Kazushi Kimura – Tino Attard
7 – Silent Causeway – Sahin Civaci – Laura Krasauskaite
8 – Ishiyaya – Daisuke Fukumoto – Michael Mattine
9 – Artie's Princess – Patrick Husbands – Saffie Joseph, Jr.
10 – Lorena – Gary Boulanger – Stuart Simon
11 – Souper Pecan – Juan Crawford – George Billers
12 – Trading Bay – Declan Carroll – Darren Glennon
13 – Spanish Ballerina – David Moran – Frank Huarte
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