Fillies should test male rivals in Clarendon Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Mark Casse entered the talented fillies Patriotic War and French Horn against the boys in Sunday’s $150,000 Clarendon Stakes, a six-furlong test for Ontario-bred and Ontario-sired juveniles.

Patriotic War is cross-entered in Saturday’s $150,000 Shady Well Stakes for fillies. The daughter of freshman sire and Preakness victor War of Will led all the way under Ryan Munger in her Nov. 2 debut, a six-furlong maiden special, scoring by three lengths with a 77 Beyer Speed Figure.

“She’s a filly we liked early on and she had some minor issues,” Casse said. “I think she’ll improve from [her debut]. Most of the [War of Wills] want more ground.”

French Horn notched her debut in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special over a solid field on the Tapeta here May 12. She went on to finish third without Lasix in the historic Astoria Stakes on the dirt at Saratoga on June 6.

When returning from a four-month absence here Oct. 5 in the five-furlong Algonquin Stakes on the inner turf, French Horn broke outward and raced wide before finishing last of eight. Sofia Vives rides the daughter of successful first-year sire Complexity.

Mansetti will try to rebound off a surprisingly poor showing in the Oct. 13 Display Stakes, in which he faded from the lead to trail a six-horse field after getting bumped at the break.

:: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets.

A $40,000 OBS 2-year-old sale purchase, Mansetti made all the running when debuting Sept. 26 in a six-furlong maiden special, earning a respectable 74 Beyer for the performance.

Trainer Kevin Attard was unsure why Mansetti came up empty in the seven-furlong Display.

“It was obviously disappointing,” Attard said. “I’m not sure how much the bump at the beginning affected the outcome. You never want to make excuses, but he came out of it great, and he’s been doing well.”

Mansetti has been working right along, including a half-mile breeze in a bullet 46.80 on the Tapeta last Sunday. Attard is adding blinkers to his equipment.

“We like the way he’s coming into the race, and hopefully he can take what he’s done in the morning and translate that into a big effort,” Attard said.

Completing the field are Awesome Beat, Call Me Sue, and Dark Screen.

Awesome Beat broke a tad slowly before rallying from nearly 10 lengths off the pace to finish a neck back in second when debuting against Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens Nov. 3.

Call Me Sue beat $25,000 maidens in his Oct. 17 opener and is coming off a troubled fourth in a 6 1/2-furlong Ontario-sired allowance won by Dark Screen.

Dark Screen and Call Me Sue are both competing on seven days’ rest. Dark Screen received a 76 Beyer in his recent victory, during which he put away the other speed before drawing off. He was previously fifth after an awkward start in the 6 1/2-furlong Frost King Stakes for Ontario-sired stock.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.