Caren leads all the way to win Princess Elizabeth

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Caren went right to the front and never looked back to take the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes over the heavily favored Gamble’s Ghost at Woodbine on Sunday.

With Jesse Campbell aboard, Caren set quick fractions of 24.47 seconds and 48.12 in the 1 1/16-mile event for juvenile fillies. Gamble’s Ghost bided her time while trailing on the backstretch before mounting a wide rally, but her bid fell three lengths shy of Caren, who prevailed in a time of 1:44.56 after switching back to her left lead at the sixteenth pole.

“I knew she was going to lead today,” said Campbell. “She was ready to run in post. She did pop to her left lead, but I looked over at the board, and she was well in front. I’m not going to fix what’s not broken right now. She’ll get over that. She’s been a blessing. She’s been a pleasure to work with.”

The Mike DePaulo-trained Caren ($11.20) earned $150,000 for owner Robert Marzilli. She is unbeaten in five Polytrack starts, and her only loss came on turf, a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Natalma Stakes.

Niigon’s Legacy finished six lengths behind Caren in third. She was followed by Garavogue Colleen and Swoop and Strike, who was the 3-1 second choice in the field of Canadian-breds.