Female racehorses are featured Oct. 23 at Woodbine when it stages the CA$250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes for Canadian-bred 2-year-old fillies and CA$150,000 Hendrie Stakes (G3), an open race for older female sprinters.
The Hendrie, race three on the Saturday program with only six entrants, is led by Amalfi Coast, one of two horses in the race trained by Kevin Attard. The Terra Racing Stable-owned Amalfi Coast, a seven-time winner from 18 starts, arrives in the Hendrie off a score in the Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) Oct. 3.
The 5-year-old Tapizar mare is the 9-5 second choice on the morning-line in the race behind 8-5 Our Secret Agent, trained by Mark Casse for owner Gary Barber. Attard's other entrant is Raroma Stable's Toffen at 8-1 odds.
Our Secret Agent, who returns to Woodbine's Tapeta main track to race 6 1/2 furlongs in the Hendrie, adds blinkers. Most recently, she set the pace before fading to fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Canadian Stakes Presented by Japan Racing Association (G2T) on turf Sept. 18.
The Princess Elizabeth, race seven, drew 10 runners, including Broken Proposal, a daughter of Broken Vow who was second in her only race Oct. 1 when racing a mile on turf. The Sam-Son Farm homebred, trained by Stuart Simon, stretches out to 1 1/16 miles on the main track Saturday after running into traffic problems first out.
"She had a trip where she doesn't have a lot of speed, so I told (jockey) Gary (Boulanger) to just let her get her feet underneath her and get some experience of closing behind her horses," Simon recalled of her debut. "And that's just what she did. She hesitated a little bit in the stretch, but that happens on the turf. I like to see them save ground and it teaches them a little something.
"I think her turf form will transfer to the main track," Simon added. "She's worked well on the main track, and I know she'll really get the distance. She'll run a long way, that filly. I think the two turns and the further distance will only help her."
Should she win on Saturday, Broken Proposal would be the seventh Sam-Son silk bearer to win the Princess Elizabeth, which dates back to 1946.
Sam-Son leads all owners with six Princess Elizabeth victories.
"It would be great to see Sam-Son get their seventh," said Simon, himself a two-time winner of the race.
Mark Casse has four chances to win. The dual Hall of Fame trainer is represented by Baksheesh, a daughter of Summer Front, who won the Muskoka Stakes in August; Lois Len, a stakes-placed daughter of Hunters Bay; Gary Barber homebred Into Touring, by Tourist , who will make her Canadian debut; and Mo Touring, also by Tourist, another Barber homebred, who will contest her third consecutive stakes.
Into Touring, who broke her maiden at Del Mar and subsequently finished a close sixth in an open stakes race, is favored at 5-2 odds.
Except for Broken Proposal, all starters race with Lasix, several after not being treated last out with the diuretic and bleeding preventative.
Woodbine, Saturday, October 23, 2021, Race 3Entries: Hendrie S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Fiduciary (GB) Luis Contreras 122 Josie Carroll 15/1 2 2Our Secret Agent (KY) Kazushi Kimura 121 Mark E. Casse 8/5 3 3Betwixting (KY) Patrick Husbands 122 Martin Drexler 4/1 4 4Toffen (KY) Antonio A. Gallardo 122 Kevin Attard 8/1 5 5La Libertee (KY) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 120 Mark E. Casse 6/1 6 6Amalfi Coast (ON) Justin Stein 125 Kevin Attard 9/5
Woodbine, Saturday, October 23, 2021, Race 7Entries: Princess Elizabeth S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Broken Proposal (ON) Gary Boulanger 119 Stuart C. Simon 12/1 2 2Mo Touring (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 119 Mark E. Casse 6/1 3 3Into Touring (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 119 Mark E. Casse 5/2 4 4Lois Len (ON) Patrick Husbands 119 Mark E. Casse 4/1 5 5Souper Flashy (ON) Antonio A. Gallardo 119 Kevin Attard 15/1 6 6Swinging Mandy (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 119 Dale A. Desruisseaux 10/1 7 7Keep It Neat (ON) Luis Contreras 119 Barbara J. Minshall 12/1 8 8Baksheesh (ON) Kazushi Kimura 119 Mark E. Casse 3/1 9 9Moira (ON) Justin Stein 119 Kevin Attard 12/1 10 10Intro (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 119 Michael P. De Paulo 20/1
