Caren gets easier assignment in Victorian Queen
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Caren bypassed last Sunday’s Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes in favor of easier pickings in Saturday’s $125,000 Victorian Queen Stakes at Woodbine.
Caren should be favored in the six-furlong dash for Ontario-sired juvenile fillies. She is unbeaten in three Polytrack sprints, against maidens and in the Shady Well and Nandi stakes.
Caren switched to the turf last time out in the Grade 2 Natalma. She went from third to second in that one-mile stakes but got caught late for second by Gamble’s Ghost, as Catch a Glimpse waltzed home on top by five lengths after setting moderate fractions.
The highly regarded Gamble’s Ghost came back to take the 1 1/16-mile Mazarine after a troubled run. Her presence was one of the reasons why trainer Mike De Paulo decided to bypass the race with Caren.
“We thought the Ontario-sired race might be easier,” De Paulo said. “She was already graded stakes-placed. The way the race would have set up, we probably would have been on the lead galloping along, and she would have had a chance to come pick us up.”
De Paulo said Caren has worked encouragingly, including five furlongs in a bullet 1:00 on Sept. 27 in company with Audacious Bear, who subsequently finished fourth after setting the pace in the Mazarine.
The Victorian Queen is the eighth on a solid 10-race card.
KEY CONTENDERS
Caren (Last 3 Beyers: 78-75-73)
◗ De Paulo said he wasn’t disappointed with her performance in the Natalma, in which she was beaten 5 3/4 lengths.
“We rated her a bit,” De Paulo said. “We expected a lot of speed in that race, and it never really happened. The turf had a little cut to it, so who knows how anybody really handled it?”
Perfect Ella (Beyer: 54)
◗ She was taken up in the stretch while awaiting room before surging late to capture her six-furlong debut Sept. 11.
Pure Purity (Beyer: 66)
◗ Like Perfect Ella, she’s a Ralph Biamonte-trained daughter of Perfect Soul who won her only start, leading throughout in a five-furlong maiden dash Sept. 19.
Marilyns Last Love (Beyers: 57-57)
◗ She overcame a troubled break to prevail in her opener and has been idle since running fourth Aug. 3 in the Nandi.
Bella’s Ballerina (Beyer: 57)
◗ She wired a modest group at first asking in a five-furlong maiden special weight race Aug. 15. Her trainer, Barb Minshall, has had a productive run here in stakes over the past month.