Dixie Moon earns downtime; Mr Havercamp gears up

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Dixie Moon capped her 2018 season on a high note with a half-length victory over Avie’s Mineshaft in Saturday’s $125,000 Carotene Stakes on Woodbine’s turf course.

Trainer Catherine Day Phillips said Dixie Moon would spend the next couple of weeks on the farm before determining whether to resume her training ahead of a potential winter campaign.

“We’ll give here a little break now, and she’ll be ready to go again by January,” she said. “We’ll just let her tell us if she wants a little more time or a little less time.”

After winning the Woodbine Oaks in June, the Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry homebred recorded her second stakes win of the season in the 1 1/8-mile Carotene. In the process, she also gave Day Phillips her 20th win of the Woodbine meet.

Dixie Moon has had an up-and-down campaign in 2018, her wins in the Woodbine Oaks and Carotene Stakes going along with runner-up efforts in the Grade 3 Selene Stakes and Wonder Where Stakes. She also put in a few uncharacteristic performances, including a ninth-place finish in the Grade 2 Appalachian Stakes at Keeneland in April, a 16th-place finish in the Queen’s Plate in June, and a sixth-place finish in the Ontario Damsel Stakes in September.

Despite those results, Day Phillips said the connections never had doubts about Dixie Moon’s talent.

“She’s had excuses along the way,” she said. “We’ve always really believed in her, so it was nice that she was able to pull it together and end on a nice note.”

Dixie Moon added blinkers for the first time in the Carotene, a suggestion Day Phillips said was made by jockey Eurico Da Silva following her breeze Oct. 13.

“We’ve always toyed with the idea of her putting the blinkers on,” she said. “She’s always been so aggressive in her races that it sort of seemed that it was counterproductive. Now seemed like a good opportunity to put them on.”

Mr Havercamp eyes Autumn

Woodbine Mile runner-up Mr Havercamp got a couple of weeks off following his run behind Oscar Performance on Sept. 15 and is now pointing toward a start in the Grade 2, $175,000 Autumn Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta here Nov. 3, Day Phillips said.

“The timing is good,” she said. “We know the synthetic will be consistent.”

Mr Havercamp returned to the work tab for the first time since the Woodbine Mile on Oct. 13, covering four furlongs in 48.20 seconds. He continued a regular pattern this past Saturday, covering four furlongs in 46.60.

“He had a great breeze on Saturday,” Day Phillips said. “He had a regular breeze the week before. He’s in good order. He’s happy and wants to race. We’re looking forward to him.”

Despite a strong effort against one of the key contenders for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, Day Phillips said the connections would have only considered running in the Breeders’ Cup if Mr Havercamp had won the Woodbine Mile, due to the $100,000 supplemental nomination fee.

“He’s not Breeders’ Cup eligible,” she said. “We felt at the time that if he was to win the Woodbine Mile, we would supplement him. With second, it gets a little bit costly.”

Notice Me to stretch out

Day Phillips has sent out four 2-year-olds so far during the 2018 Woodbine meet, recording wins with two of them, including Artilena and Notice Me.

Notice Me won her maiden by 5 1/2 lengths going seven furlongs in her second career start Aug. 31 before finishing fourth, just a half-length behind winner Silent Mistake, in her stakes debut in the Victorian Queen on Sept. 22.

Notice Me has now recorded three breezes since the six-furlong Victorian Queen and is eyeing a start in the $125,000 South Ocean Stakes for Ontario-sired 2-year-old fillies over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta on Nov. 17.

“Ultimately, the goal will be the South Ocean with her,” Day Phillips said. “I’d like to see her stretch out a little bit. We’ll see how we get there and how the races unfold.”

Notice Me could make one start before then, which could come as early as this weekend in an Ontario-sired allowance event over six-furlongs on Tapeta for 2-year-old fillies currently in the condition book for Saturday’s card.

Notice Me’s most recent breeze on Saturday morning saw her cover four furlongs in 47 seconds over the main track.

“She had a very nice breeze,” Day Phillips said. “We’re very happy with her. She’s getting back on track. She had a little break and she’s good, too.”