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Souper Escape Is Super In Second Trillium Win At Woodbine

Defending champion Souper Escape just held off Crystal Glacier at the wire to win the $150,000 Grade 3 Trillium Stakes on Saturday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack.

It was a 1-2 finish for Sovereign Award-winning owner Live Oak Plantation, which also bred the winner.

Jockey Luis Contreras was aboard Souper Escape for her front-running journey in the 1-1/16-mile main track feature for fillies and mares 4 years old and up.

Trained by Michael Trombetta, Canada's reigning Champion Older Main Track Female was sharp leaving the gate and quickly established the lead into the first turn. She clocked fractions of :24.24 for the quarter-mile, :48.42 at the half-mile mark, and 1:11.54 for three quarters while turning back the stalking Red Cabernet.

Souper Escape continued to lead the way into the stretch, with Skygaze looming outside of Merveilleux. However, Crystal Glacier, who followed the leader throughout, proved to be the biggest threat with a late lunge down the lane to make it into the win photo under Kazushi Kimura.

“It was close, but I thought I had a pretty good chance to win the race,” said Contreras after getting the nod in the photo finish. The winning time was 1:43.12.

“By the way my filly was acting in the post parade, I knew she was going to be sharp. So I knew she was going to be on the lead no matter what. I was just trying to make her relax to have some horse at the end.”

The five-year-old Medaglia d'Oro-Cry and Catch Me mare, who won the Trillium and seven-furlong Grade 3 Seaway Stakes in back-to-back fashion last summer at Woodbine, improved her lifetime record to 7-2-3 from 20 starts.

Souper Escape paid $9.20, $4.40, and $3.80 across the board for winning her season's debut. She combined with the favored Crystal Glacier ($3.70, $2.80) for a 2-1 exacta that returned $30.10 for a $2 ticket. Skygaze ($4) finished 2-1/4 lengths behind in third.

Mark Casse trainees finished second through fourth, with Heavenly Curlin closing from the backfield to complete the superfecta. Merveilleux was fifth, with Royal Wedding, Brassy, and Red Cabernet completing the order.

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Casse-Trained Trio Top Saturday’s Trillium Stakes Field At Woodbine

Conditioner Mark Casse has three chances, in the form of Crystal Glacier, Heavenly Curlin and Skygaze, to capture his third Grade 3 Trillium Stakes title, Saturday at Woodbine.

Having won the 2013 and 2019 editions of the Trillium with Sisterly Love and Miss Mo Mentum, respectively, Casse will look to complete the stakes hat trick in the 1 1/16-mile, $150,000 main track event, with three serious contenders.

Crystal Glacier, a 4-year-old daughter of Curlin, has assembled a record of three wins and a second from nine career starts for Live Oak Plantation.

Bred in Kentucky by Southern Equine Stables, the dark bay has a pair of score in her past three races, back-to-back victories coming at Turfway Park this February.

“She's another one that ran well at Turfway,” offered Casse. “We tried there this year and actually had a very good meet. The horses ran well there, including her.”

The Trillium represents the first stakes appearance for Crystal Glacier, who won her career bow on August 9, 2019 at Ellis Park.

“She's a very nice horse and she really does like it at Woodbine.”

Heavenly Curlin, also a daughter of Curlin, will no doubt appreciate a return to the Woodbine Tapeta.

Owned by Gary Barber and John Oxley, the 4-year-old bay rhymed off three consecutive triumphs at the Toronto oval in 2020, including a 5 ¾-length romp in the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes on November 7.

Bred by Elevage II, LLC, Heavenly Curlin arrives at the Trillium off a fifth and ninth in two grass starts at Gulfstream.

She sports a record of 3-0-1 from seven career races with all three wins coming in her three Woodbine engagements.

“It was a tremendous effort in the Maple Leaf last year. We took her down to Florida and ran her in some tough spots. She just doesn't like the grass as much as Tapeta.”

Skygaze, who has contested five of her nine career starts at Woodbine, returns to Canada on a three-race win streak that began last fall in Ontario.

After rallying to secure a neck nod in a seven-furlong main track allowance race on October 3, Skygaze took her talents to Turfway Park where the 4-year-old daughter of American Pharoah made a late charge to eke out another neck win on December 10.

Owned by Tracy Farmer and bred in Kentucky by Normandy Farm, the bay was 'much the best' in taking a 1 1/16-mile Tapeta event by three lengths.

Skygaze brings a record of 4-0-2 from nine races into the Trillium.

“She won the Mazarine [at Woodbine] last year, but was disqualified,” noted Casse. “It took her awhile to get on track, but she ran really well at Turfway. We had planned on running her in a stake on Jeff Ruby Steaks day, but she didn't get in. She was on the AE's and didn't get in. So, we've been sitting and waiting for this spot for a long time. She's been training very well.”

Casse believes any of his Trillium starters could take all the spoils.

“They all like to win. They're all solid fillies and it wouldn't shock me for any of them to win.”

The Trillium is Race 7 on Saturday's 10-race card. First post time is 1:20 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE GRADE 3 $150,000 TRILLIUM

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER

1 – Crystal Glacier – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse

2 – Souper Escape – Luis Contreras – Michael Trombetta

3 – Red Cabernet – Steven Bahen – Ian Black

4 – Royal Wedding – Simon Husbands – Nathan Squires

5 – Merveilleux – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard

6 – Brassy – Daisuke Fukumoto – Eoin Harty

7 – Skygaze – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

8 – Heavenly Curlin – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

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Souper Escape Runs Away With Woodbine’s Trillium Stakes

Live Oak Plantation's Souper Escape gave her filly and mare foes the slip in the $125,000 Trillium Stakes to earn her first graded stakes victory on Saturday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.

The Michael Trombetta trainee was an impressive 1:42.78 winner in the Grade 3 main track event, coming close to the 1:42.16 track record for 1 1/16 miles held by recently retired Freitag.

“When she came out from the gate, she was so nice and relaxed, it looked like it was kind of easy, but she was all game today,” said winning jockey Luis Contreras, who was bracing for the competition to come. “When I turned for home, I had so much horse and she just kept rolling.”

Souper Escape set fractions of :24.93 to the quarter, :48.65 to the half and 1:11.76 while widening her lead to three-quarters. Another Time and favorite Theodora B. were her closest rivals three lengths behind after Nantucket Red levelled off when attempting a three-wide bid down the backside.

Souper Escape opened up six lengths down the lane and ended with 4 1/2 lengths to spare as Painting, who trailed the seven-horse field through the first half-mile, rallied into second-place and finished 3 1/4 lengths clear of show finisher Another Time.

Art of Almost, Wings of Dawn, Theodora B. and Nantucket Red rounded out the order of finish.

Souper Escape paid $7.50 to win as the slight 5-2 second choice.

The four-year-old homebred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro–Cry and Catch Me also counts the 2019 La Lorgnette Stakes, her only other start on Tapeta, among her five wins from 15 starts. Today's victory boosted her bankroll well over the $200,000 mark.

Contreras and Trombetta have already teamed up for a stakes win this season with Woodstock champion Newstome at the start of the meet.

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