Grass could make 'Ami' victorious

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Stakes-placed Victorious Ami will make her first start on the grass in Wednesday's first race at Woodbine, a one-mile maiden special for 2-year-old fillies. Although 16 horses were entered for the $62,700 turf race, only 12 will be allowed to start.

Victorious Ami showed promise when she debuted in a five-furlong maiden special on Aug. 21, finishing a fast-closing second after a slow start. The winner, Roving Angel, came back to capture a tough allowance by five lengths.

Most recently in the Muskoka Stakes, a seven-furlong sprint for graduates of local yearling sales, Victorious Ami mounted an inside rally en route to a second-place finish behind front-running Simply Lovely.

Victorious Ami is by Belmont Stakes winner Victory Gallop, who has had three first-time turf winners from 35 starters. Her stakes-placed dam won her grass debut, but was more accomplished on the main track.

Silent Moccasins, a royally bred Sam-Son Farm runner by A.P. Indy, failed to run to her high-quality grass pedigree on Aug. 15 in her only start. She set slow fractions before fading to sixth in that seven-furlong race, but has worked a quick five-eighths over the turf training course in the interim and will be much fitter for this engagement.

Todd Kabel retains the mount on Silent Moccasins for trainer Mark Frostad, the combo that won Sunday's Grade 1 Atto Mile with Soaring Free. Silent Mocassins' half-brother Quiet Resolve won the 1999 Atto Mile by disqualification.

Foamy Water was far back in both of her races in claimers on the dirt, but is by a decent turf sire in Archers Bay, and could improve. Her rider, Corey Fraser, was Woodbine's hottest apprentice until five weeks ago, when he broke two bones in his hand in a spill. Foamy Water will be Fraser's first mount since the injury.

Byzantium bombed when she debuted in the Nandi Stakes, and is coming off a fourth-place finish in a five-furlong maiden race on the main track. Her dam has thrown a pair of turf stakes winners, Pete's Fancy and Byzantine.

Sanfran, a Japanese-bred by Forty Niner, is switching to the grass off a series of fringe placings, and is going on Lasix.

Saving Ground has been absent since running seventh in her lone outing, in a key maiden special June 12. She breezed a bullet five-eighths in 1:00 last week, and is bred for turf on the top and dirt on the bottom of her pedigree.