Curlin's Voyage tries turf in Wonder Where Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Oaks winner Curlin’s Voyage will take her talents to the turf in Sunday’s $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes, the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine.

Curlin’s Voyage won the 2019 Sovereign Award for Canadian champion 2-year-old filly. She took the nine-furlong Woodbine Oaks with a career-high 90 Beyer Speed Figure on Aug. 15. A four-wide trip led to her downfall when she was a well-beaten fifth as the favorite in the Sept. 12 Queen’s Plate.

Curlin’s Voyage worked an easy five-eighths on the main turf last Saturday with Queen’s Plate winner Mighty Heart. The cones were far out, and she veered inside one of them in midstretch before linking back up with Mighty Heart to complete the distance in 1:03.

“She’s doing great,” said trainer Josie Carroll, who won the 2018 Wonder Where with Avie’s Mineshaft.

Curlin’s Voyage is by the popular Curlin, who has sired an ordinary 11 percent grass winners. Her dam, by superb turf sire Stormy Atlantic, produced one turf winner from two starters, the versatile Brass Compass. There are two turf stakes performers under her second dam, most notably Grade 2 Del Mar Derby victor My Best Brother.

Curlin’s Voyage will be ridden again by Patrick Husbands, who has captured the Wonder Where five times.

Carroll also entered Sansa’s Vow and She’s a Dream in the 1 1/4-mile event.

Merveilleux rallied through traffic to finish third in the Oaks, but the daughter of Paynter was never in contention and ended up sixth in the Queen’s Plate. She handled the main turf nicely in an easy five-furlong breeze in 1:04.40 last Saturday.

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Trainer Kevin Attard said he had no obvious excuse for Merveilleux when she was eased the only time she competed on the grass in her 2-year-old debut.

“I’m not sure what happened that day,” Attard said. “I really don’t have an answer. It was a real hot day. I’m hoping it was just the heat and nothing else.”

Afleet Katherine, another contender trained by Attard, won her first two starts going seven-eighths on the grass, against maidens and allowance runners. She went on to finish a bang-up second in the Oaks, before running second as the favorite in the second Tiara leg, the Bison City Stakes.

Trainer Shug McGaughey ships in the Chiefswood Stables homebred Forty Zip, who is coming off a nose victory in a nine-furlong maiden special on the Belmont Park grass. McGaughey has excellent numbers with horses exiting a victory, but the Hall of Famer is 0 for 14 lifetime at Woodbine.

Owner-trainer Roger Attfield sends out 2019 South Ocean Stakes winner Gun Society, whose best race this year was a second to the upwardly mobile Court Return in the Eternal Search Stakes.