Aristella springs upset over Casse trio in Wonder Where

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mark Casse-trained stablemates Winterberry, Shifty, and No Time were the top three betting choices in Saturday’s $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, but it was longshots Aristella and Scat Girl who ran one-two in the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara at Woodbine.

Winterberry set a quick pace in the 1 1/16-mile inner turf route while the favored Shifty tracked her in second after being dragged back early while rank.

Woodbine Oaks winner No Time raced in third and Aristella saved ground in fourth ahead of a trailing Scat Girl on the backstretch.

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Shifty hit the front in the stretch before a wide-closing Aristella mowed her down late to score by 1 1/4 lengths, in a time of 1:42.36 over the firm ground. Scat Girl awaited room along the inside in the stretch before securing second by a half-length over Shifty. Winterberry and No Time completed the order of finish.

A diminutive daughter of More Than Ready, Aristella ($17.80) earned $150,000 for Flying Zee Racing Stables.

Aristella was a non-threatening seventh in the Oaks before a deceptively good third behind Winterberry and Shifty in the Bison City Stakes on Tapeta, the second leg of the Tiara. The Wonder Where was her first win since the Nov. 30 Princess Elizabeth Stakes, a $250,000 event for Canadian-bred juvenile fillies.

“I don’t think she fired in the Oaks,” winning trainer Rachel Halden said. “She seemed to recover from it well and was going okay, so we took on the Bison City, which I think was a good effort. I thought she ran her race that day.

“We didn’t really want to take on the Casse trio again, but after the way she worked on the turf, I started looking back at her form and started thinking she came around for me in the fall last year. Maybe she wasn’t in love with the heat, and I felt good about her going into today.”

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