Harness Racing: Drunk And Dramatic looks to stay perfect in Autumn Stakes at Woodbine

Whether she wins or loses in her Autumn Stakes elimination this Friday, Drunk And Dramatic has already exceeded her conditioner's expectations.

Trained by Philip Doyle, Drunk And Dramatic remains a perfect eight-for-eight in her young career, along with earnings of $25,600.

The bay miss has raced exclusively at Rideau Carleton near Ottawa and will look to make her Woodbine debut a winning one.

“It’s pretty hard not to be happy with the way she’s been racing,” Doyle said. “Sure, she’s won eight races, but she hasn’t really beaten anyone of note. This race will be a great test for her.”

Doyle privately purchased the daughter of Million Dollar Cam last summer from breeder John Fleischman before sending Drunk And Dramatic to Truro, Nova Scotia.

“I have known John for many years and the opportunity came for the filly to be purchased, so I did it,” Doyle explained. “I turned her out for a few months, and then sent her to my brother, Art, in Truro.”

Doyle’s brother began putting the conditioning into the pacing filly, before sending her back to race in Ontario in the spring of this year.

“I got her back roughly three weeks before she qualified,” he said. “I trained her a few times and put her in the box to qualify. I knew she was a decent filly, but I didn’t think she was this good. She has certainly exceeded our expectations.”

With a lifetime best clocking of 1:56, Drunk And Dramatic has certainly gained attention while racing at Rideau Carleton, but Doyle believes her next start will be her most important.

“It’s a much tougher group of fillies,” he said. “This series is a nice fit for her. I’m not exactly sure that she can win, but she will be competitive. I’m looking forward to seeing what the weekend brings.”

While showing tremendous gate speed in all of her starts, Doyle believes his pupil races best from off the pace.

“She’s been put on the front quite a bit because there are some horses you don’t want to get caught behind while racing in Ottawa,” he said. “If she gets a nice trip, she can certainly make a good showing of herself. She can really pace for a piece of a mile.”

Scott Zeron will look to guide Drunk And Dramatic to victory this Friday evening at the Rexdale oval. The pair will kick off the 12-race program in race one from post four, while the second elimination will line up in race three.

Two $25,000 eliminations will take place for Ontario-sired sophomore pacing fillies, who are non-winners of $50,000 lifetime or non-winners of $30,000 in 2012 as of midnight, October 31.

The $60,000 final will take place on Friday, November 30.

(edited release-WEG)