Abscond just gets up to win Natalma Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Abscond ($21) prevailed in a fight to the finish with Walk in Marrakesh and odds-on favorite Fair Maiden in Sunday’s Grade 1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine.

Abscond dueled with the English filly, Walk in Marrakesh, on the outside in the one-mile turf route, while Fair Maiden assumed a three-wide stalking position through the turn.

Fair Maiden joined the leaders on the outside in the stretch, and they fought it out from there. Fair Maiden weakened late to third as Abscond nailed Walk in Marrakesh on the wire to win by a nose in a time of 1:36.51 on the yielding ground.

Abscond gave jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. a sweep of the two Grade 1 stakes for juveniles on the card. He also took the Grade 1 Summer on Decorated Invader.

“She acted really good,” Ortiz said. “She broke sharp, and was going relaxed in the middle of the track, so I left her there. I didn’t fight too much with her. I started saving some ground in the turn, and when I asked her to run, she’s a fighter. She fought with the outside horse, and came back to the inside and fought back and put her head in front in the last couple jumps. Everything worked out good for us.”

Based in Kentucky with trainer Eddie Kenneally, the Blame filly Abscond won $150,000 of the $250,000 purse for Apogee Bloodstock and Mike Anderson Racing.

► The aptly-named Fast Scene ($10.10) held off the favored Bayerly Seen to take the nightcap on the card, the $102,600 Woodbine Cares Stakes.

With Rafael Hernandez aboard, Fast Scene covered the five-eighths on the inner turf in 56.96 seconds. Trained by Tim Hamm, she earned $60,000 for Three Chimneys Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm.