Green Doctor should be fitter for Selene Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Green Doctor will look to continue on the road to the Woodbine Oaks in Sunday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Selene Stakes at Woodbine. She is one of four 3-year-old fillies in the Selene field who are eligible for the Woodbine Oaks on June 14, a race that trainer John LeBlanc Jr. said is very much the goal.

The Woodbine Oaks “is our goal, and this is the next stepping-stone,” he said. “She will have to perform better than she did in the Fury for us to go to the Oaks. We may choose other options if she doesn’t, but if we’re happy with her performance, we’ll go from there.”

LeBlanc said Green Doctor’s sixth-place finish in the Fury Stakes on May 3 was expected since it was her first start of the year.

“We expected her to get a little tired down the stretch, and she did,” he said. “She settled well, which is something we were looking for. She made a run, but she couldn’t sustain a run, which was completely understandable in our eyes with her fitness level what it was.”

LeBlanc said Green Doctor has been progressing well since the Fury and should be prepared for her first start around two turns.

“She’s grown out of [the Fury], we’re better prepared for this upcoming race, and we’ll see how she handles the two turns,” he said. “Her last workout was on her second turn around the track, so it was good preparation for a two-turn event.”

Key Contenders

Don’t Leave Me (Last 3 Beyers: 72-50-62)

◗ Won her 2015 debut in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park on March 21 and figures prominently in this field. She should move up off that win and fired a bullet breeze May 8 while getting ready for the Selene.

Season Ticket (Last 3 Beyers: 75-75-70)

◗ Will make her synthetic-track debut and will cut back in distance after finishing a clear second in her last start at Keeneland on April 24. Expect her to be well off the pace early, but she does have some speed to chase.

Leading Edge (Last 3 Beyers: 74-73-66)

◗ Has posted Beyer Speed Figures in the 70s in her first two starters for trainer Roger Attfield, including a third-place finish in her last start May 1. The runner-up from that event came back to beat allowance opposition with a 77 Beyer last Monday.

Ol’ Fashion Gal (Last 3 Beyers: 74-67-69)

◗ Ships to Woodbine from Santa Anita for trainer Mark Casse after three straight starts in graded stakes on turf. Besides Don’t Leave Me, she is the only other graded stakes winner in this field after winning the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar last November.

Green Doctor (Last 3 Beyers: 59-72-61)

◗ Won two straight starts to close out 2014, including a score in the restricted Fanfreluche Stakes.