Il Malocchio wins maiden in Victorian Queen

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Il Malocchio won the fastest of the three wildly run 7 1/2-furlong inner turf races for 2-year-olds on Sunday at Woodbine, taking her maiden victory in the $100,000 Victorian Queen Stakes for fillies.

Trained by Marty Drexler, Il Malocchio gave owner-breeder Frank Meli his first stakes victory. She was Meli’s second juvenile winner at the meet, after the quirky Nero Davola.

Il Malocchio saved ground in fourth under Sahin Civaci before outkicking pacesetter Sunsprite in a 2 3/4-length score in the two-turn race. The favored Mum’s the Word missed the break and wound up fifth after going four wide on the first turn.

Drexler said Il Malocchio could run back in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes going 1 1/16 miles for Canadian-breds on Oct. 31. The Nov. 14 South Ocean Stakes for Ontario-sired fillies is another potential spot for the daughter of Souper Speedy. That $100,000 event has been shortened from 1 1/16 miles to 6 1/2 furlongs this year.

“She’s well-built, she’s nice, but the main thing [I like] about her is she’s very sensible,” Drexler said. “You can do anything you want with her. She’s pretty mature. You don’t even know she’s in the barn.”

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Drexler said Nero Davola has been put away for the year. She seemed headed for a first-out win July 4 before she brushed the rail at the eighth pole and then tried to jump it while unseating Civaci, who escaped injury. After ending up second in each of her next two outings, she graduated in her second try with blinkers Sept. 13 in a five-furlong Ontario-sired maiden dash, during which she jumped a shadow at the finish.

Avoman won his maiden second time out over All Canadian in Sunday’s $100,000 Bull Page Stakes, the male version of the Victorian Queen. The favored Dragon’s Brew made up good ground from seventh to finish two lengths back in third after racing extremely wide.

Sunday’s nightcap, for Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens, featured one of the best losing efforts of the meet. Giant Waters was carried out five wide on the first turn before rallying outside from 14 lengths back to drop a head decision to the slow-starting Knight Kingdom.

It was a good day for leading Canadian freshman sire Reload, the sire of Sunspite and All Canadian. A Grade 3-winning turf miler, Reload is a half-brother to former Ontario sire Philanthropist, who was sold to South African interests a few years ago.

◗ Owner-trainer Steve Owens bypassed the Bull Page with Dancing Dragon, who was a gutsy second-out winner in an open maiden special on the Tapeta on July 23. The homebred exited his last work on the turf training course with a shin issue and will miss some time.

“He handled the turf really well, but his shin came back,” Owens said.