'Executive' decision calls for stakes try
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Blonde Executive, one of Woodbine's fastest 2-year-olds, will make her much-anticipated stakes debut Wednesday in the $130,750 Victorian Queen, a six-furlong race for Ontario-sired fillies.
Blonde Executive, an easy winner of her last two starts, showed promise as soon as she went into training last winter, according to trainer Radlie Loney.
"She acted different, from the very first time she went onto the track," Loney recalled. "She had done everything asked of her perfectly, so we were really high on her. She's the kind of horse you only have to show something to once, and she'll pick it up right away. She's built more like a colt than a filly."
Blonde Executive was prominent throughout and finished fourth, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, when she debuted over a muddy strip in a May 24 maiden special.
"Her shins started to bother her a little bit before her first race," Loney said. "She was good enough to run, but I was concerned that she might buck in the race. She finished fourth, and her shins bucked right out. I blistered her, gave her 30 days off, and then I started training her back. I didn't run her for another two months."
Blonde Executive resurfaced in an Aug. 2 maiden special, in which she ran second to Silver Bird, who won a preliminary allowance last Friday. Blonde Executive won her maiden in a romp going three-quarters of a mile on Aug. 17, defeating My Vintage Port, who came back to take the Muskoka Stakes in an upset.
Blonde Executive earned her second consecutive Beyer Speed Figure of 84 when she won a six-furlong allowance Sept. 12. None of her opponents in Wednesday's race has cracked 70 on the Beyer scale.
Blonde Executive worked five-eighths in 1:02 on Sept. 22. "She's coming into the race in good shape," Loney said.
Also entered in the Victorian Queen are Believe in Missy, Boozin Blonde, Foxy Jean, Oriental Doll, Toula, and Ashlee's Bella.
Toula won her debut by 7 1/4 lengths in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special for Ontario-sired fillies Sept. 13. She could have a productive future on turf or dirt, since she is a half-sister to Sweetest Thing, the 2001 champion turf female in Canada.
Toula worked five-eighths in a bullet 59.80 seconds over the main track last week for trainer Mike Mattine, who won the 2001 Victorian Queen with Parisia.