Dixie Moon targeting Wonder Where Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Oaks winner Dixie Moon did not have the best of it in the $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30, as she was shuffled back at the start and was eased into the stretch. Trainer Catherine Day Phillips said Dixie Moon came out of the race with no issues and will fight another day.

“She’s fine,” she said. “The day didn’t seem to agree with her. The heat was a factor on Plate Day. She was shuffled to the back of the field, a position that she is not accustomed to. She’s walked for a few days and headed back to the track to jog. She’ll get a little break now, and we’ll carry on.”

Day Phillips said it was likely Dixie Moon will make her next start on the turf. Dixie Moon did her best running on the turf as a 2-year-old in 2017, defeating males to win the Cup and Saucer and finishing second in the Grade 1 Natalma. Dixie Moon also ran sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar after stumbling at the start.

Day Phillips said the $225,000 Wonder Where Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf Aug. 12, the third and final jewel of the Canadian 3-year-old filly series, could be where Dixie Moon runs next.

“The Wonder Where is a possibility if she bounces back,” she said. “The timing may work, but we will let her tell us.”

Silent Sonet to stay on turf

Silent Sonet got back on a winning track after switching to turf to win the Zadracarta Stakes over seven furlongs July 1 at Woodbine. She’ll remain on the turf when she makes her next start in the $100,000 Victoriana Stakes over 1 1/16 miles for Ontario-sired fillies and mares Aug. 6, trainer Nick Gonzalez said.

Silent Sonet began her 4-year-old campaign with a pair of Tapeta sprints, finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes on April 28 and fourth in the restricted Ballade Stakes on May 20. Silent Sonet got a clean run in the Zadracarta, stalking the pace two wide along the backstretch before striking the front in the stretch. She went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Grade 2 Nassau Stakes winner Niigon’s Eclipse.

“We were so happy for her,” Gonzalez said. “She had a couple of troubled trips the first two times we ran her. Things just went right.”

Silent Sonet improved her career record on turf to three wins from five starts with her victory in the Zadracarta. While the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes over six furlongs on turf July 29 could have been an option, Gonzalez said he would like to keep Silent Sonet in restricted company for the time being while continuing to stretch her out.

“She galloped out super in that seven-eighths of a mile race,” he said. “She’s eligible for those Ontario-sired races, and it’s just the right fit right now. Obviously, down the road we’d be looking for some graded earnings because it means a lot in her second career.”