Botta Swing should get right trip in third start of form cycle
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sunday’s Woodbine headliner could set up for Botta Swing, who consistently comes from off the pace and who will be making her third start off an 11-month layoff. The conditioned allowance/optional claimer has a field of seven and is scheduled for five-eighths on the inner turf.
Botta Swing returned from a one-year layoff on June 20 in a five-furlong inner turf dash that combined nonwinners-of-two allowance types with $50,000 claiming 3-year-olds. Sent off at 3-1, she rallied outside from fourth to prevail by three-quarters of a length while putting up a career-best 78 Beyer Speed Figure.
Botta Swing was in tough against Ontario-bred male opposition in the five-furlong Vice Regent Stakes on Aug. 17. After getting away slowly, she checked in seventh while beaten just 3 3/4 lengths. In a field chock-full of speed on Sunday, the late-running Not This Time mare is meeting much easier with Ryan Munger back riding for trainer Barbara Minshall.
Miss Vyvyanne, Flashy Motor, and Purr Factor all prefer racing on the front end. They were all ridden in their last start by Sahin Civaci, who’s sticking with Purr Factor.
Miss Vyvyanne could be the speed of the speed after starting from post 7 under the meet’s leading rider, apprentice Pietro Moran. Miss Vyvyanne ran two monster races on the inner turf after trainer Bill Tharrenos claimed her April 26, winning at this level June 7 before scoring with a $32,000 tag three weeks later, when she was scooped up by trainer Gail Cox.
In her Aug. 9 debut for Cox on the Tapeta, Miss Vyvyanne stalked the leaders on the outside in third before fading to fifth. Perhaps getting back onto the inner turf could be just what the doctor ordered for the 5-year-old, who’s a seven-time winner from 19 starts.
The Mark Casse-trained Flashy Motor is aiming for her third victory in a row with Patrick Hubands taking over. She graduated in a June 7 maiden special and then doubled up in another main turf sprint against non-two allowance rivals July 5. From post 3, this is her inner turf debut.
Purr Factor breaks from the one-hole in her first start after clearing the first allowance condition Aug. 9 when going 6 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta under Civaci. She has just a pair of thirds to her credit from eight grass starts, the majority of which were going long. Trainer Devon Gittens claimed her for $25,000 in May for the meet’s leading owner by wins, Bruno Schickedanz.
Golden Canary, Chromeplated Heart, and Zana round out the lineup.
Golden Canary rallied for second the only time she competed over Woodbine’s inner course at 2 in the 2023 Algonquin Stakes. The Casse-conditioned daughter of Medaglia d’Oro has been competitive in all four of her grass outings this year without finding the mark.
Chromeplated Heart has gone winless during the past year. The durable 7-year-old is coming off a neck loss in a slowly run Tapeta race and could be along to pick up some of the pieces.
Zana has worked fast for her first race since a troubled fifth July 19, when she was promoted to fourth by disqualification.
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