Casse fillies favored in Bison City
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse sends out the imposing favorites Shifty and Winterberry in Saturday’s $250,000 Bison City Stakes, the middle leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine.
Five of the six entrants are exiting the opening leg of the Tiara triple, the July 20 Woodbine Oaks, including Shifty and Winterberry, both of whom are owned by D. J. Stable.
Shifty finished a commendable second as the favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Oaks, which was won by her King’s Plate-bound stablemate No Time. Shifty, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, had done her best running on the lead in the past, but she assumed an inside stalking position near a fast pace in the Oaks before checking in a clear second.
Shifty graduated over 6 1/2 furlongs on the main turf with an 85 Beyer Speed Figure last August in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes, after which she ran third against males in the Grade 3 Grey and fourth in the restricted Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
“I think Shifty is going to be a great miler,” Casse predicted. “She’s very talented.”
Winterberry outran Shifty for the lead in the seven-furlong Fury Stakes on June 7 and never looked back, scoring with an 86 Beyer, the highest among all in the Bison City field. Winterberry led the way in the Oaks before tiring in the final furlong, finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind Shifty while putting up a 79 Beyer.
Sahin Civaci retains the mount on Shifty and Patrick Husbands will again ride Winterberry. Husbands and Casse have combined to win the Bison City five times, most recently with Stormcast in 2024. Both fillies breezed a half-mile on the Tapeta last Saturday.
Aristella went three-wide on both turns in the Oaks and made a bid for contention on the far turn before fading to seventh, 9 1/4 lengths behind No Time. The diminutive bay hasn’t improved much this year Beyer-wise since landing the 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth in late November.
Crystal Visions chased the pace in the two-path before folding to end up ninth in the Oaks. Perhaps her best performance was a troubled third in the Princess Elizabeth.
Innisfree Isle was supplemented by trainer Catherine Day Phillips off a non-threatening eighth in the Oaks. She graduated second time out in her penultimate start in a maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the Bison City.
Winless Hibiscus is ambitiously spotted. She came up empty after leading the way in a one-mile maiden special weight on the inner turf July 12. She set a slow pace on a golden rail before weakening to third against the boys in the seven-furlong King Corrie Stakes in May. The blinkers are removed by trainer Josie Carroll.
The Canadian Triple Tiara concludes with the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes traveling 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf here Sept. 6.
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