La Dragontea earns first stakes win in Canadian
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Saratoga invader La Dragontea ($4.40) notched her first stakes win under a hot Joel Rosario going about 1 1/8 miles on the main turf in Sunday’s Grade 2 Canadian on the Woodbine Mile undercard.
Our Secret Agent set a slow pace along the backstretch, with La Dragontea pressing her through the turn in the five-horse route for fillies and mares.
Merveilleux made a three-wide bid to join Our Secret Agent and La Dragontea on the lead early in the stretch.
Rosario never asked La Dragontea to kick in until about the eighth pole, and she edged away late to prevail by a length over a closing Court Return. Barkin rallied for third, and was followed by Merveilleux and a fading Our Secret Agent.
The final time was 1:50.33 over a course labeled good.
“I was laying close, and she really relaxed nice,” said Rosario, who was the leading rider at the Kentucky Downs meet. “I was just waiting for the right time to move. She looked like she was getting over (the course) nice. She seemed comfortable. She was enjoying what she was doing out there. That made it easy for me.”
A daughter of Lope de Vega bred in Great Britain, La Draongtea earned $150,000 of the $263,000 purse for owners Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Rebecca Hillen. Christophe Clement trains La Dragontea.