ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse sends out the imposing D. J. Stable-owned duo of Shifty and Winterberry in Saturday’s $125,000 Fury Stakes at Woodbine. A seven-furlong sprint for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies, the Fury is an important prep for the July 20 Woodbine Oaks. Casse has won the Fury a record eight times, including in each of the last two years. The speedy Shifty will be favored under Sahin Civaci. She graduated second time out in the Catch a Glimpse Stakes on the main turf in August, after which she finished a wide sixth in the Grade 2 Miss Grillo at Aqueduct in October. Shifty was a pacesetting third against the boys in the Grade 3 Grey on Nov. 3, and closed out her juvenile campaign by running fourth after a troubled trip in the Nov. 28 Princess Elizabeth Stakes. Shifty got away with slow fractions when romping in her seven-furlong season opener versus allowance company, when she earned her second Beyer Speed Figure of 85. Shifty breezed a bullet half-mile in 46.60 seconds on May 29, which was similar to the rapid drill she recorded before her comeback. “She was impressive,” Casse said. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. The enigmatic Winterberry brought her “A” game when winning her debut at 2 and the seven-furlong Glorious Song Stakes in October, for which she got an 82 Beyer. She could only manage fifth as the clear-cut favorite in each of her last two outings, the Nov. 23 Shady Well Stakes and the April 26 Star Shoot Stakes. “She’s coming into the race in great shape,” assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan said. “Now that she has that first race of the year out of the way, we’re looking to keep building with her and the hope is she can have a big year.” Shifty drew post 1 in the five-horse field. Patrick Husbands breaks Winterberry from post 3. Aristella won the 1 1/16-mile Princess Elizabeth for Canadian-breds while receiving just a 69 Beyer. After wintering at Payson Park in Florida, she took the long way home when fifth in the open Ruling Angel Stakes, beaten just two lengths by victorious Brindi. Nata Trouble placed in both the Glorious Song and Shady Well. She ran just off a live rail on the turn before digging in gamely for second in the May 11 allowance that Shifty won by 9 1/2 lengths. Miss Pierre could vie for the early lead with Shifty. She led throughout her seasonal bow in a seven-furlong allowance, after which she came up empty against older opponents at the same distance. Carded as the third of 10 races, the Fury is excluded from the early pick four and goes as the second leg of the early pick five, which has a guaranteed pool of $125,000. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.