Blond Me just needs clean trip in E.P. Taylor

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Blond Me had a valid excuse for her subpar showing last month in France and seems poised to rebound in Sunday’s Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes on the Canadian International card at Woodbine.

Based in England with trainer Andrew Balding, Blond Me captured the Group 2 Middleton Stakes in her first outing of the year. Following a layoff Aug. 3, she ran second to the multiple Group 1 winner Winter over soft ground in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes.

Blond Me was pulled up after being interfered with Sept. 10 in the Group 1 Prix Vermeille at Chantilly, according to assistant Leanne Masterton.

“Five furlongs from home, there was a lot of hampering,” Masteron said. “The eventual winner came across three horses behind it, and all three horses pulled up. Blond Me, unfortunately, was one of them. A hind shoe was taken off of her. [Jockey Oisin Murphy] looked after her and pulled her up to save her for here. Once she had been interfered with, there was no point in carrying on because she’d lost every chance.”

A 10-furlong turf route, the $500,000 Taylor lured an excellent field that also includes Quidura and Nezwaah, along with the Chad Brown-trained runners Fourstar Crook and Rainha Da Bateria.

KEY CONTENDERS

Blond Me, by Tamayuz

◗ She was second in the Grade 2 Sands Point and sixth in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup in her two North American excursions, both in fall 2015.

Quidura, by Dubawi
Last 3 Beyers: 100-102-100

◗ After narrowly losing to Lady Eli in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga, she won the Grade 2 Canadian here. Trainer Graham Motion said he probably won’t send her to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf after this engagement.

“This might be her Breeders’ Cup,” Motion said. “It’s a Grade 1. She ran so well last time that it made sense to come back. We’ll see how it goes. It would be quick to come back [in the Breeders’ Cup]. She hasn’t done much wrong. She was taken completely out of her game being on the lead [in the Diana], but she got a lot of weight from Lady Eli.”

Nezwaah, by Dubawi

◗ She won the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes two starts back and was fourth last time in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks behind the brilliant Enable, who came back to romp in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

“I don’t think she quite stayed the trip” in the Oaks, said Wayne Tanner, an assistant to trainer Roger Varian. “The ground was on the slow side. She’s a fast-ground filly.”