A pair of competitive $150,000 two-year-old stakes, the Clarendon Presented by HBPA of Ontario, and the Shady Well Presented by Pepsi, share the spotlight on Friday's eight-race card at Woodbine.
Each set for 5 ½-furlongs over the Tapeta, the Clarendon and Shady Well, for Ontario-bred rookies, will be featured on Racing Light Live, to be broadcast from 7-9 p.m. ET on TSN.
The card also includes the final leg of the Woodbine Turf Endurance Series, which drew 11 hopefuls for the 1 ¾-mile marathon on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
Trainer Andrew Smith has cross-entered the filly Silent Resent in both stakes.
A dark bay daughter of Silent Name (JN), the dark bay, bred and owned by Joey Gee Thoroughbreds, made her debut on Aug. 7 a winning one.
Sent on her way at 14-1, Silent Resent converted a head advantage at the stretch call of the six-furlong Tapeta race into a four-length win in 1:11.33.
“It was a nice win,” said Smith. “I'm not sure about the caliber of horses we beat, but she won quite easily. I thought she'd run a good race first time out because she had shown quite a bit in the morning.”
In her most recent start, the one-mile Victorian Queen Stakes contested on the Toronto oval's Inner Turf, she finished sixth, six lengths back of the winner.
“She was pretty rank early and that was kind of the end of the race for her,” offered Smith. “Had she rated a little better, I think she would have run a little better. I thought she was going to run better, so I was disappointed there. I thought she'd stretch out, but she didn't relax for us. That was the main problem. Had she relaxed she would have been able to finish better.”
Smith, who is enjoying a solid 2021 campaign, believes the filly will come back with a stronger effort on Friday.
“She's heading into this next start doing pretty good. She's certainly sharp and I think she'll like the cut back in distance. Around the barn, she's very aggressive. She wants to train hard all the time and is go, go, go all the time.”
Trainer Katerina Vassilieva will send out first-time winner My Girl Sky in the Shady Well.
A daughter of graded stakes winner Dynamic Sky, My Girl Sky overcame a less-than-ideal start in her career bow on September 5th at Woodbine.
“She's got a lot of heart and determination,” said Vassilieva. “She has that will to win. She had every excuse not to run well after having sort of been bumped at the break and missing a step. But she came flying home. I think she's a gutsy filly and it's worth taking a shot in a spot like this.”
Vassilieva wasn't quite sure how the grey filly would respond the rest of the way after the tough beginning.
“I was surprised that she had that kind of a break because when Steve [jockey, Bahen] worked her from the gate – there were two other horses in with her that day – she broke the fastest and the sharpest. I think both myself and Steve were expecting her to, if not be on top, to be somewhere in the mix of things early – very close to the pace or on the lead.”
The conditioner's expectations on where My Girl Sky, owned by Kevin Drew, would eventually finish changed throughout the course of the race.
“When that (breaking sharply) didn't happen, I hoped she would have a good experience and learn something from it. As the race went on, I thought we had a chance to hit the board. Then, I realized we actually had a chance to win. That's when it got exciting. She had a really good closing kick and she really ran on when Steve called on her. That was nice to see.”
Vassilieva has enjoyed working with her young charge.
“She's a sweetheart. She loves people and she's very kind. She loves attention and she loves her work. She's all business on the track. She loves to train and seems to enjoy being a racehorse, I would say.”
Dan Vella, who won consecutive editions of the Shady Well, in 1994 with Honky Tonk Tune and one year later with Heavenly Valley, is represented by Marie MacKay in this year's running
Bred and owned by Track West Racing and Donald Whalen, the daughter of Noble Mission (GB) debuted on September 11 at Woodbine, finishing second at 14-1 to Aubrieta in the 5 ½-furlong race on the Tapeta.
Aubrieta, a two-year-old daughter of Speightster, trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, looked impressive in that 1 ¾-length score last month.
The Conrad Farms' homebred will once again be ridden by Patrick Husbands in the Shady Well.
Six contenders, including Simcoe Stakes champion, Ironstone, will vie for top spot in the Clarendon.
The Shady Well is slated as race six. The Clarendon is scheduled as race seven on Friday's 4:45 p.m. program.
Fan can watch and wager on all the action with HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.
$150,000 SHADY WELL STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Aubrieta – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
2 – My Girl Sky – Steven Bahen – Katerina Vassilieva
3 – Silent Resent – David Moran – Andrew Smith
4 – Ya Mar (S) – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse
5 – Shanghai Shamrock – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
6 – Marie MacKay – Justin Stein – Daniel Vella
7 – Silver Magnatized – Gary Boulanger – Kevin Attard
$150,000 CLARENDON STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Silent Runner – David Moran – Michael Doyle
2 – Silent Resent – Antonio Gallardo – Andrew Smith
3 – Ironstone – Ademar Santos – Willie Armata
4 – Bossy Holiday – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
5 – Drop a Caribou – Daisuke Fukumoto – Robert Tiller
6 – Repeat the Heat – Rafael Hernandez – Michel De Paulo
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