Il Malocchio | Horse Racing Free Tips

Il Malocchio Rallies To Win Bison City Stakes At Woodbine

Il Malocchio, coming off a third-place finish in the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, stalked the pace from fourth and rallied smartly through the lane to give trainer Marty Drexler the biggest win of his career in Saturday's $250,000 Bison City Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

In winning the 1 1/16-mile Bison City by half-length under Patrick Husbands, Il Malocchio dispatched of five fellow Canadian-bred fillies, including the highly fancied Miss Speedy, who faltered to finish fourth at odds of 2-5.

“She ran a big race today,” said Husbands, who was riding his leading eighth stakes winner of the meeting. “Last time she tricked me. By the quarter-pole, I thought I had the race won, but when I asked her she paused for about three strides and those three strides cost me the Oaks.

“Today, before we swung for home, I made sure I had her in gear.”

The Bison City unfolded as expected with Miss Speedy, unbeaten in two previous starts, went straight to the front from her inside post and led by 2 ½ lengths through a quarter in :23.57 and a half in :46.68.

And while she maintained a 2 ½ lengths lead through six furlongs in 1:11.13, her supremacy was about to be threatened as first Emmeline and then Il Malocchio loomed large.

Emmeline, who had nosed out Il Malocchio for second money in the 1 1/8 mile Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, had raced closest to Miss Speedy throughout and had led by a head over Il Malocchio with a furlong to run, only to succumb grudgingly as they stopped the clock in 1:43.42.

The second-place finish was the fourth straight for the hard-luck Emmeline, who remains a maiden after seven starts.

Cielo d'Oro closed for third money, three lengths behind the runner-up and three-quarters of a length before Miss Speedy.

Miss Marie and Youens rounded out the order of finish.

Owned and bred by Franco Meli, Il Malocchio placed in a pair of Woodbine stakes at age two and was sent south to trainer Kenny McPeek with a long-term eye toward the Woodbine Oaks. After finishing third in the Suncoast Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, Il Malocchio was up the track in the Fair Grounds Oaks but then finished a good second in a 1 1/8 mile allowance race at Keeneland with Kenny McPeek as her trainer of record.

Back home with Drexler at Woodbine, Il Malocchio opened up with a fourth-place finish in the seven-furlong Fury before her solid effort in the Woodbine Oaks, where she was beaten 1 ¼ lengths.

“She's special,” said Drexler. “In my barn, we run a lot of cheaper, middle claimers. We don't have a lot of horses like this. It's nice to get one that you can play on this stage.”

Sent off as the 9-2 third choice, Il Malocchio returned $11.50 and topped a $33.60 with the 4.40-1 Emmeline. Cielo d'Oro, at 15-1, rounded out a $198.10 trifecta with Miss Speedy completing a $1 superfecta worth $207.75.

The Bison City followed the Woodbine Oaks as the second leg of Canada's triple tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies. The $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, at 1 ¼ miles on E.P. Taylor Turf Course, concludes the series on October 2.

“She gives it all; she's going to be getting close to being over the top”, said Drexler. “But, I have to think that's where we're going to aim.”

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Munnyfor Ro Best In Woodbine Oaks

Munnyfor Ro, under a patient ride from Justin Stein, took the 66th running of the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser Sunday at Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario.

Trained by Kevin Attard for Raroma Stable Inc., Munnyfor Ro was the last to load in the first leg of the Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies, but was first when it counted most, perhaps setting herself up for a shot at Queen's Plate glory on August 22.

It was Lorena, undefeated in three starts coming into the Oaks, who was put on the front end by Gary Boulanger. Emmeline, under Emma-Jayne Wilson, settled into second, with Miss Marie and Il Malocchio racing side-by-side just off the leaders.

After a quarter-mile in :24.35, Lorena was still in command as Emmeline, to her outside, remained squarely in contention. Munnyfor Ro, with Justin Stein aboard, was cruising comfortably in the eighth spot, and was still there after a half-mile clocked in :48.41.

As the field began to envelop Lorena, Stein and Munnyfor Ro, sixth after three-quarters in 1:12.35, began to pick off their rivals one-by-one and were full of run around the turn for home. At the stretch call, the pair was a half-length ahead of a determined Emmeline, who continued to fight on along the rail.

At the wire, Munnyfor Ro was a 1 ¼-length winner. Emmeline stayed on for second, a nose ahead of Il Malocchio, with 85-1 Youens taking fourth. The final time was 1:50.31.

Munnyfor Ro, the 3-1 third choice, returned $8.70 for the win.

“I was told the key with her is to have her settled,” noted Stein. “The pace… it looked like there was probably some possibility of them stopping, which we didn't want to be in behind them. I put her in a spot that we could tip out in the turn when it came time to ask her to run from the quarter-pole home. We had a dream trip; worked out perfect.”

It was an Oaks first for Attard and a second for Stein, who teamed with Academic to take the 2015 running.

“We were expecting a good performance out of her,” said Attard. “She came up here this season in good shape from [trainer] Brian Lynch – had a great campaign over the wintertime. She ran a fabulous race [second] in the [Grade 3] Selene. I thought she'd move off that race forwardly enough to kind of be really competitive here today. Had a good interim breeze and put it all together.”

For owner Rajendra Maharajh, it was a perfect day from start to finish.

“My good buddy Art Fisher from Ocala picked her out for me,” said Maharajh, who named the horse for his son 'Ro.' “She came up here [last year] and ran two races. She was a little immature at the time. We sent her down to Florida and gave her the winter off and then with COVID, my other trainer, Brian Lynch, took her over and prepped her up and we were always planning for this race. Brian did a fabulous job getting her ready and then she came over just about a month ago and Kevin did the final touches on her and he did a fabulous job.”

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The Oaks win wasn't the only icing on the cake.

“It's just a wonderful story and today's my mom's 80th birthday,” shared Maharajh. “Everybody is here with us, so it's a family day and a lovely day.”

The decision to run Munnyfor Ro, now 2-2-2 from nine starts, in the $1 million Queen's Plate, will be made by the filly's connections in the coming days.

“These are the races you want to win growing up as a kid here in Ontario,” said Attard. “With Woodbine my home, the Oaks and the Plate are obviously those pinnacle races for those 3-year-olds – just really happy and satisfied to get it done today.

“A mile and a quarter is going to be her trip; I'm not worried about the distance. We'll see how she comes out of the race and then we're going to have to sit down and talk, and see if supplementing her is the next move.”

The Woodbine Oaks has served as a Queen's Plate stepping-stone for fillies. Oaks-Plate champions include Holy Helena (2017), Lexie Lou (2014), Inglorious (2011), and Dancethruthedawn (2001). In 2018, Oaks runner-up Wonder Gadot went on to win the Queen's Plate.

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Heavy Favorite Dreaming Of Drew Wires Princess Elizabeth Field At Woodbine

Odds-on favorite Dreaming of Drew delivered on her pari-mutuel promise with a dreamy performance in the 75th edition of the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes for Canadian-foaled 2-year-old fillies on Saturday at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.

With blinkers added, the Speightster miss set her sights on her first added-money score, leading all the way in 1 1/16-mile main track feature for jockey Patrick Husbands.

Dreaming of Drew set fractions of :24 to the quarter, :48.71 to the half and 1:13.42 to three-quarters with Bodacious Miss and Justin Stein applying pressure on the final turn and Il Malocchio moving into contention from mid-pack under Sahin Civaci.

As Dreaming of Drew turned back Bodacious Miss and floated away from her foes down the stretch, Il Malocchio came through to finish second with the stalking Emmeline and Kazushi Kimura rallying to finish third over Bodacious Miss.

The chestnut filly, who won by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:44.07, concluded her five-race freshman campaign with two wins and two seconds, plus a fourth-place finish when facing Grade 1 company in the Natalma last time out.

Sent postward as the 4-5 favorite, she returned $3.90 to win.

“She's a dream,” said Barb Minshall, who trains the promising youngster for Hoolie Racing Stable. “She's been a great filly for us and I'm really looking forward to the future with her.

“Hopefully, she'll be an Oaks contender next year.”

Among the past Princess Elizabeth winners that have gone on to take the Woodbine Oaks are Nipissing (2012), Roan Inish (2009), Ginger Gold (2001) and Dancethruthedawn (2000).

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