Improving Silent Sky opts for easier company

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Silent Sky was scratched out of Friday’s Ashbridges Bay Stakes to meet easier nonwinners of two in Thursday’s Woodbine feature, combining Ontario-sired allowance types with $40,000 claimers.

Owned by Terra Racing Stable, Silent Sky took six starts to earn her diploma. She turned the trick Sept. 16 in an open maiden special weight route on the main turf, scoring comfortably over next-out winners Cry Freedom and Financial Advice.

Silent Sky was favored when traveling the 1 1/16-mile distance of Thursday’s race against nonwinners-of-two company on Oct. 21. She Makes a Point wired the field then as Silent Sky parlayed a three-wide stalking trip into a second-place finish.

“She’s improving,” co-owner Mark Romeo said. “She had a real good run on the turf. That was an impressive race. The last one, it was a little bit of a speed-favoring track and she was wide. I think she’ll run better on Thursday.”

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Patrick Husbands, who rode Silent Sky’s stablemate Fashionably Fab to victory in the Ashbridges Bay, retains the mount on Silent Sky. The 3-year-old daughter of Silent Name is trained by Kevin Attard, who has a lofty 36 percent win average when employing Husbands.

Foxy Diva also ran against the bias when a ground-saving third while beaten just a nose for second by Silent Sky on Oct. 21, when they both earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure. The durable 5-year-old had done the bulk of her best previous running on the grass, over which she graduated here last fall on the inner turf.

Apprentice Fraser Aebly will ride Foxy Diva again for Kevin Attard’s cousin, Steve Attard.

Bijou Baby has been campaigned as a seven-furlong specialist this year by trainer Catherine Day Phillips, who sent the daughter of Point of Entry out to beat Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens in August. She was competitive around two turns last fall and blinkers are added, which has been a 20 percent angle for the barn.

Friends for Life looks to be the lone speed in the eight-horse field. She went too fast on the lead before fading badly in each of her route assignments, in the Woodbine Oaks and Princess Elizabeth Stakes. Most recently going seven-eighths, she shook loose up front on the backstretch before tiring to end up fifth after getting out badly. Stuart Simon trains the daughter of Silent Name and Oaks winner Ginger Brew.

Moral Turpitude was claimed from her penultimate start in a $25,000 sprint and is coming off a fourth behind Silent Sky and Foxy Diva. Her trainer, Don Pleterski, was 1 for 5 second time off a claim during the past five years, with a return on investment of $1.34.

Rounding out the field are Inscrutable, Queen Gypsy, and Bedazzle Me.

Post time for the eight-race program is 4:40 p.m.

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