Eponine ships in from Spa for Canadian Stakes
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Eponine goes from a Saratoga allowance score to the Grade 2, $200,000 Canadian on Saturday’s King’s Plate undercard at Woodbine.
An Irish-bred 4-year-old owned by Repole Stable, Eponine had a successful 3-year-old season in France, the highlight of which was a second in the Group 2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly. Eponine made her first start for trainer Kevin Attard off a long layoff in a June 6 allowance at the Spa, during which her rally fell a neck short after an awkward break. She had a quick pace to close into there most recently and cleared the first allowance condition as the favorite with an 86 Beyer Speed Figure.
“She broke a little poorly and got delayed a little bit in traffic,” Attard said of her June 6 outing. “She put it all together next time out. She had a good trip and ran well. She’s obviously a nice filly. She’s coming around. I’m looking forward to running her here on her home ground.”
Attard is also sending out War Painter, a solid Ontario-sired stakes and allowance performer who won her season opener before a flat fifth in a tougher conditioned allowance on the Tapeta. War Painter is 2 for 6 on the grass, over which she finished a belated fourth behind a sharp Little Teddy in the Eternal Search Stakes in October.
Five other fillies and mares were entered in the 1 1/16-mile inner-turf event: Awesomesauce, Lupa, Power of Destiny, Proctor Street, and Queens Command.
Awesomesauce won twice over the winter at Fair Grounds before missing the board in back-to-back Kentucky stakes. She won her first stakes over Ohio-breds most recently in the Vivacious at Belterra for trainer Joe Sharp, who has four wins and three seconds from just 10 starts at the current Woodbine meet.
Lupa inherited a clear lead after another front-runner missed the break last out in the Grade 3 Trillium and then rode a golden rail on the Tapeta in a narrow loss. She hasn’t competed on the grass since last year, when she beat maidens on the inner turf at first asking before tanking in the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen on the main course.
Power of Destiny is coming off a prominent third in a 1 1/8-mile conditioned allowance at Saratoga, which came on the heels of a first-level allowance victory here on the inner turf. John Velazquez retains the mount on the English import for trainer James Bentley Begg.
Despite not finding the mark this year, the Brendan Walsh-trained Proctor Street has performed well in her five starts, which included thirds in the Grade 2 Hillsborough at Tampa and the Grade 3 Modesty at Churchill.
Proctor Street rallied for second in her penultimate race, the Grade 3 Mint Julep at Churchill. She had a troubled run most recently when seventh in the restricted De La Rose Stakes at Saratoga.
The well-traveled 7-year-old Queens Command is making her first start for trainer Katerina Vassilieva off a fifth-place finish in a July 5 conditioned allowance at Ellis Park.
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