ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Kevin Attard looks to be holding a pair of aces in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Whimsical when he runs Lithe Spirit and American Women in the six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares at Woodbine. Lithe Spirit is making her first start for Attard after winning the six-furlong Queen Stakes over Turfway’s Tapeta for the second year in a row with a career-high 88 Beyer Speed Figure March 14. “I watched [her last] race a few times,” Attard said. “It was a very gutsy effort. She had to work hard to get it done, but you could see that she wasn’t going to be denied. She has that ability to really shift into high gear and then sustain it when the real running starts.” Lithe Spirit recorded consecutive half-mile breezes in 49 and change here April 15 and April 22. “She looked strong in both and looks ready to go,” said Attard. “She galloped out nicely in both those moves.” The late bloomer American Women got the winter off at Palm Meadows after winning a first-level allowance/optional-claimer on the Tapeta from off the pace here Nov. 8. She won her March 26 season opener in a conditioned allowance on the dirt at Gulfstream in front-running fashion with a career- best 89 Beyer. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “Obviously, two very nice races in a row,” Attard said. “The one here, she burst through a seam at the top of the stretch and then just powered home. You could see that she had plenty left in the tank at all times. It was an all-around impressive outing for her. “At Gulfstream, it was a different style, where she set the pace and then kept on with it. She had come into it doing really well, so I can’t say I was surprised with what she did. It also showed she has the ability to run a different race and still be successful.” American Women breezed a half-mile in 48.20 on April 25 and April 18, when she beat her work company handily. “She looked very sharp in both, just like she did in her works at Palm Meadows,” Attard said. “She’s all business whenever she gets on the track, morning or afternoon. We’re very happy with how she is coming into the race.” Among the others in the seven-horse field are Brindi, Maximum Fifty, and Ms. Bucchero. Turfway-based Brindi is no stranger to Woodbine, having won the Star Shoot and Ruling Angel Stakes for 3-year-old fillies here last spring. She went winless in four subsequent outings and is returning from a seven-month absence under the guidance of trainer Kelsey Danner. Maximum Fifty was the winningest runner at Woodbine last year, during which she took six of seven starts, all in allowance/optional-claiming company. The Whimsical is her stakes debut, and she ends a six-month vacation for trainer Robert Tiller. A stakes winner on dirt, Ms. Bucchero is making her first start on Tapeta in her debut for trainer Mark Casse, who has won the Whimsical five times. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.