Frac Is the Judge returns to turf in Woodbine feature
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Frac Is the Judge goes back to her preferred inner turf while getting some class relief in Thursday’s sixth race at Woodbine, a competitive five-furlong dash for $25,000 conditioned claimers.
Trained by Patrick Dixon for Colebrook Farms, Frac Is the Judge made quite a splash debuting May 8 against $15,000 maidens at 5 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta. Sent off at 6-1, the daughter of successful Colebrook stallion Frac Daddy came from third to win going away by 6 1/4 lengths.
Frac Is the Judge ran poorly while favored in a subsequent Ontario-sired allowance and then dropped to the $25,000 non-winners of two class Aug. 1. The result was another disappointing performance, a distant fourth behind a next-out winner.
Four weeks later, Frac Is the Judge took to the turf like a duck to water, closing inside from seventh to prevail by a head over $25,000 nowinners-of-n-two stock. Her last race at the Ontario-sired nonwinners-of-three level came off the grass, and she wasn’t a factor before checking in sixth.
Pietro Moran is sticking with Frac Is the Judge. Woodbine’s hot leading rider won the first three races on last Thursday’s card and was aboard for all of Frac Is the Judge’s starts.
The sixth race also lured Velvet Rage, Unheard, Silicium, Dancin Mary Marie, and Reach for the Top.
Velvet Rage is the speed of the party and could take some catching. After vying for the lead and then weakening late, she was promoted from second to first by disqualification in an inner turf sprint exiting a layoff on Sept. 10.
Most recently in another $25,000 conditioned claiming sprint on the Tapeta, Velvet Rage came up empty after tracking the early leaders and was beaten in double digits. Fraser Aebly replaces Moran on the Bill Tharrenos-trained 3-year-old, who can rebound in her third race off the bench.
Unheard was disqualified from first to eighth for interference after beating Velvet Rage on Sept. 10. She dropped to $15,000 most recently on the Tapeta and was along for second behind Monty’s Inn, who returned to win an open $15,000 contest.
Silicium was claimed for $25,000 by trainer Sylvain Pion July 30, when the French-bred was a troubled seventh. She subsequently finished fourth and ninth in a pair of non-winners of two allowance sprints on the main turf. Her lone inner turf excursion was a rail-skimming score over $25,000 conditioned claiming opposition when she peaked July 9.
Dancin Mary Marie had a successful campaign at Fort Erie after struggling here in May, when trainer Desmond Maynard claimed her for $9,500. She defeated males in a Sept. 7 maiden special at the Fort and is coming off another dirt sprint score there in allowance company.
The Dixon-trained Reach for the Top landed on the edges in her last two tries, most recently when descending from $25,000 to $15,000. She hasn’t found the mark since the summer of 2025.
Post time for the eight-race card is 3:10 p.m.
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