Celebrity Ro looks to be class of turf sprint
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Inner-turf horse for the course Celebrity Ro should be rolling late in Friday’s featured sixth race for fillies and mares at Woodbine. The five-furlong dash is a hybrid event for nonwinners-of-two Ontario-sired allowance types and $40,000 claimers.
Celebrity Ro was claimed for $40,000 by trainer Danny Yu last October when the daughter of Oscar Performance finished a close second at this level. She got the winter off after coming up empty in a two-turn Tapeta route Nov. 21.
When returning to action in a nonwinners-of-two allowance sprint on the inner turf June 6, Celebrity Ro broke a bit slowly before closing strongly from sixth to drop a nose decision to Wooten Warrior. The 70 Beyer Speed Figure the 5-year-old received was a career best.
Sahin Civaci takes over on Celebrity Ro for owner Sek-Yuen Cheung. She doesn’t have an abundance of speed to run at in the eight-horse field of fillies and mares, but the rail position at zero feet can be beneficial to closers.
Sipping History figures to lead the way under Keveh Nicholls. The 3-year-old was collared in deep stretch by stablemate Pageant Queen after racing uncontested up front in her April 25 comeback. She attended the pace before flattening out late to third most recently in the Georgian Bay Stakes for Ontario-sired sophomore fillies on June 21. Last year, trainer James Bentley Begg sent out Sipping History to hit the board in two other restricted stakes, the Victorian Queen and South Ocean.
Vegas Road ran evenly for fourth in the five-furlong Georgian Bay on the inner turf. After wintering at Gulfstream, she beat Ontario-sired maidens here April 19 and ran third at this level in another Tapeta sprint May 9. Ryan Munger retains the mount on the Tara Neigel-trained Vegas Road, a daughter of popular Ontario sire Reload.
Adorable Angel is stepping up off a charging second in a five-furlong inner-turf dash for $25,000 non-two claimers. Trained by Daniel Harvey, she’s made the board in all three of her inner-turf excursions while failing to crack 60 on the Beyer scale.
Leading trainer Mark Casse sends out Divinely Inspired, who has competed strictly on the Tapeta since ending up ninth while debuting in a stakes on the Gulfstream grass in May of 2025. She went to the sidelines after beating Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens here in October and could only manage eighth in each of her two starts this year.
Sans Dancer went winless in eight outings last year at 2. She came from left field to beat $25,000 maidens in her season opener but faltered when stretching out to seven furlongs in her latest at this class. Apprentice Kemarie Blackett will get a leg up from trainer Steve Attard on the daughter of Frac Daddy, who’s making her turf debut.
Completing the sixth-race lineup are Velocita and Alluring Amy, who’s adding blinkers off a $40,000 claim and a dull sixth-place finish.
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