Easier company for Soul Search
ETOBICOKE, Ontario Kentucky invader Soul Search will get some significant class relief when she contests the $175,000 Maple Leaf Stakes for fillies and mares Saturday at Woodbine.
Soul Search was a distant third behind Fleet Indian and Balletto in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes in August at Saratoga. After winning a Sept. 10 classified allowance at Turfway, she was second in the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland, behind Asi Siempre, who was disqualified from second and placed fourth in last Saturdays Breeders Cup Distaff.
Soul Search will compete on her third different Polytrack surface in the Maple Leaf, which is contested at 1 1/4 miles. Patrick Husbands will ride her for trainer Neil Howard.
Silver Highlight, a versatile 4-year-old, has 2 wins and 3 seconds in 5 starts this year. Most recently, following a three-month layoff, she made her first start on the Polytrack and won an $80,000 optional claimer by 6 3/4 lengths.
She did it very easily, said trainer Edward Freeman. Since then, she looks to be going the right way.
Freeman said he believes Silver Highlights best race was her second-place finish behind Fleet Indian in the Grade 3 Sixty Sails Handicap last April at Hawthorne, for which she received a 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
In any normal year, shed have won the Sixty Sails, Freeman said. Fleet Indian ran a 112 Beyer that day. She freaked.
Foamy Water captured the nine-furlong allowance prep for the Maple Leaf on Oct. 20 on the Polytrack. She set a dawdling pace under Jim McAleney to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Trainer Roger Affield ran Foamy Water on turf in her six previous outings, which included a win in a 1 1/4-mile allowance in June and a third in the Sept. 24 Flaming Page Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on yielding ground.
She really doesnt like running on the dirt, but she likes the Polytrack, Attfield said. Thats why we gave her a shot in [the prep], to see whether we should keep her around a bit longer for this other dance. This will be a tougher race, and shell have to step up some more.
Foamy Water worked a half-mile in 48.60 seconds Wednesday, tied for the fastest of 30 moves at the distance.
She breezed nicely, Attfield said. I was very happy with the way she did it.
Ballroom Deputy, who won the 2005 Maple Leaf, was a stalking second in the allowance prep, her first start in nearly three months.