Etoile returns to Woodbine, where she's a star

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Etoile returns to the scene of her biggest score in Sunday’s $175,000 Dance Smartly Stakes on the Queen’s Plate undercard at Woodbine.

Etoile, a 5-year-old French-bred mare, started twice here last year. She finished a lapped-on second in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly, which was won by the eventual Canadian champion turf female Theodora B.

Etoile returned to Woodbine two months later in October for the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor, another 1 1/4-mile turf event. Sent off at 5-2, she tracked the leaders in third en route to a neck score over longshot Court Return.

Trainer Chad Brown’s go-to jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Etoile for the first time on Sunday, when she’ll be back on Lasix after competing without the diuretic when fourth in her season opener in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keeneland.

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Maryland-based Blame Debbie could be the pacesetter under Kazushi Kimura. Victorious in the Grade 3 Dowager last fall at Keeneland, Blame Debbie wired the field in her June 13 season debut in the Searching Stakes at Pimlico. She could only manage fifth over soft ground most recently in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware.

“She won pretty nicely first time back at Pimlico,” trainer Graham Motion said. “She was a little disappointing last time at Delaware.”

Alnaseem and Mutamakina are the other shippers in the field, which is rounded out by Merveilleux, Afleet Katherine, and Court Return.