Bent Attorney firing hot for MacRae

ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- Bent Attorney brings the highest last-race Beyer Figure to Saturday's $125,000 Ballade Stakes, and she should be prominent in the six-furlong dash for Ontario-sired fillies and mares at Woodbine.

Bent Attorney has won five lucrative races since being claimed for $50,000 in the fall of 2008 by trainer Don MacRae. The versatile 6-year-old won her only stakes on turf last July at Fort Erie in the five-furlong Ernie Samuel Memorial, which came a month after she was second here in the Zadracarta Stakes.

Bent Attorney aired in a 5 1/2-furlong optional claimer following a layoff here April 11, scoring with a Beyer Speed Figure of 89 over next-out winner Indian Apple Is. MacRae said he had anticipated a strong showing from her then.

"She had been breezing incredible leading up to it," said MacRae. "I thought the field came up a little tough, but she drew an outside post. I think five and a half is probably her best distance. I thought she'd win, but I didn't think that she'd win as impressively as she did. She tries every time."

MacRae has pointed Bent Attorney towards the Ballade since her season opener.

"She seems to be doing well," said MacRae. "We've breezed her three times coming into it. She's done everything very easy."

Impossible Time and Authenicat should also be among the favorites.

Impossible Time went to the sidelines for more than five months after finishing a nonthreatening fifth in last year's Ballade. She defeated Ontario-sired allowance stock off a layoff in November, and subsequently ran hot and cold in third-level allowance/optional-claiming company on the dirt at Gulfstream.

Impossible Time crushed a weak field of first-level allowance opponents over seven furlongs in her lone appearance at this meet April 25.

"I've never been able to put her races together," said trainer Roger Attfield. "There's always been some little thing that's happened to her. She came out of that last race really well, and I'm looking forward to running her back."

Authenicat captured last year's Ballade with just a 73 Beyer Figure. She went on to finish third in both the Grade 3 Chicago Handicap at Arlington and in the Victoriana Stakes here on the grass. In her season debut April 18 in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes, Authenicat made an inside move over an outside-biased track into contention on the turn, before fading to sixth in the stretch.