Anybody could win Alywow

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Amazon Belle will be looking for her first stakes score in Sunday's $100,000 Alywow at Woodbine.

The Alywow, an open 6 1/2-furlong overnight turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies, attracted a field of 10, and a case could be made for almost every entrant.

Trained by Bob Tiller, Amazon Belle ran well when finishing second in each of her two starts last year, including the seven-furlong Muskoka, a yearling sales stakes.

This spring, Amazon Belle has picked up where she left off, winning her maiden and a first-level allowance on Polytrack before finishing a solid second to the 4-year-old Moonlit Beauty when making her turf debut under second-level allowance terms at the same distance as Sunday's race.

"She's a hard-trying filly," said Tiller. "She handled the turf well. She kind of switched to her wrong lead the last part; that's the only mistake she made in the race. She was real game."

Eurico Rosa Da Silva, Amazon Belle's regular rider this year, retains the mount.

Barracks Road, highly regarded by trainer Mark Casse, was a handy maiden winner in her first start of the year, which came at six furlongs on the turf. She should handle the step into stakes company under returning rider Corey Fraser.

Worstcasescenario, invading from New York, won the Grade 2 Adirondack over 6 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga last summer. Trained by Rick Violette and to be ridden by Alan Garcia, Worstcasescenario has been off since finishing a close second in the Boynton Beach, a one-mile turf race at Gulfstream Park, on April 17.

Roger Attfield, who trained the 1994 Canadian Horse of the Year Alywow, could be in the winner's circle either presenting or accepting the trophy here, and there's no doubt which role he would prefer.

Attfield will be looking for his first win in the Alywow with No Explaining, who was a sharp winner of a first-level allowance in a race open to older horses on May 16. No Explaining was making her North American debut and her first appearance in more than seven months in that seven-furlong turf race.

"I wasn't surprised, the way she'd been training," said Attfield. "She has the pedigree to run a lot longer, but she has speed. She did it even better than we thought she would."

Platinum Princess, the runner-up to No Explaining that day, was beaten a length when trying turf for the first time.

Chantal Sutherland again gets the call on No Explaining, while Garrett Gomez picks up the mount on Platinum Exchange.