Dixie Moon holds off Queen's Fate in Ontario Lassie Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — In a gritty display, the heavily favored Dixie Moon nosed out Kentucky shipper Queen’s Fate in Sunday’s $125,000 Ontario Lassie Stakes at Woodbine.

Dixie Moon ($3) tracked the leading Fairy Hill through slow fractions in the 1 1/16-mile route. Dixie Moon made the lead on the far turn, with Loopety Loo at her throat, and then put that rival away before barely holding off Queen’s Fate to prevail in a time of 1:45.43.

Loopety Loo finished three lengths back in third in the seven-horse field of Ontario-bred 2-year-old fillies. She was followed by Gosudarina, Lunar Garden, Safe to Say, and Fairy Hill.

The win was a meet-leading 34th stakes score for jockey Eurico Da Silva, which leaves him two wins shy of the meet record with two stakes left in the season.

Trained by Catherine Day Phillips, Dixie Moon earned $75,000 for owners Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry. The daughter of Curlin was coming off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar.

“She’s a tremendous filly,” Day Phillips said. “She came back from the Breeders’ Cup in really good order, and I’m just really glad she got a chance to show everybody how nice she actually is. She’s going to get a break. She’s going to the farm for four weeks off, and then she’s going to join us at Palm Meadows.

"She’ll have a nice winter in Florida. She’s had a long campaign, and I thought maybe that showed on her a little today. She showed up every time.”