Code Warrior might give Presque Isle Masters another run

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Code Warrior captured the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes in gate-to-wire fashion in here on Aug. 26, and could be making her way to Presque Isle Downs for her next start. Trainer Mike De Paulo said he is considering running her in the Grade 2, $400,000 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes on Sept. 17.

Code Warrior recorded her third stakes victory of the year in the Seaway.

Zilli Racing Stables bought her for $190,000 last November at the Keeneland breeding stock sale. She won first time out for De Paulo and Zilli Racing Stables in the Abundantia Stakes on turf at Gulfstream Park back on Jan. 1, but ran sixth in the Ladies’ Turf Sprint Stakes on Jan. 27 there in her next start.

“She had a little bit of a foot issue in her second start at Gulfstream,” De Paulo said. “She stepped on a stone or something and had a little bruise. Since then, she’s been pretty good.”

Upon returning to Woodbine, Code Warrior finished second in the Ballade Stakes on May 20, and won the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes on June 10. Prior to running in the Seaway, she finished ninth in the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes on turf on July 29.

Code Warrior finished ninth in last year’s Presque Isle Downs Masters, won by another Woodbine shipper, Ami’s Mesa. At the time, she was trained by Rachel Halden and was owned by J. C. Racing Stable, Wachtel Stable, and Gary Barber.

Dixie Moon to Ontario Damsel

Woodbine Oaks winner Dixie Moon rebounded nicely off of her 16th-place finish in the Queen’s Plate to run second to Avie’s Mineshaft in the Wonder Where Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf here on Aug. 12.

Dixie Moon is nominated to next Saturday’s $100,000 La Lorgnette Stakes for 3-year-old fillies over 1 1/16-miles on Tapeta, but trainer Catherine Day Phillips said she will keep Dixie Moon on the grass and wait for the $125,000 Ontario Damsel Stakes for Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies over one mile on the turf on Sept. 29.

Day Phillips said she was pleased to see Dixie Moon bounce back in the Wonder Where Stakes, and noted the filly has come out of that race in good order.

“I think she’s on the upswing, and giving her another little break before the next race will help her even more,” she said.

Assuming all goes well in the Ontario Damsel, Day Phillips said the $125,000 Carotene Stakes over 1 1/8-miles on turf for Ontario-bred 3-year-old fillies on Oct. 20 would likely be Dixie Moon’s final start of the season at Woodbine before she heads to Florida for the winter.

Benefit softball tournament

Woodbine Entertainment Group, the HBPA of Ontario, and the Jockeys’ Benefit Association of Canada will host the inaugural Backstretch Softball Classic on Sept. 17 in support of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Foundation. The Gomez Foundation assists individuals involved in the horse racing industry that are facing difficult circumstances beyond their control.

This year’s proceeds will support Woodbine-based jockey and exercise rider Lanscott Fray, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a training accident earlier this year. The tournament will feature a team comprising Woodbine jockeys, and will take place from 12-4 at Paul Coffey Park in Mississauga, Ontario. Anyone interested in sponsoring a team or making a donation can contact Josie De Paulo by e-mail at josiedepaulo@outlook.com.