Lake Ontario, Ashbridges Bay finish up Ontario Sired Heritage Series; $137K carryover in early pick five

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer John Ross runs Junior Hot Shot and Garafoli in the $100,000 Lake Ontario Stakes, while Hurricane Clair should be favored for trainer Marty Drexler in the $100,000 Ashbridges Bay Stakes. At 1 1/16 miles, the two stakes are the anchor legs of the Ontario Sired Heritage Series, a four-race series for each sex for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds on Sunday at Woodbine.

Sunday's Woodbine card also will feature a $137,621 carryover in the early pick five (Races 2-6).

Junior Hot Shot has won 4 of 8 starts, taking his last two outings under Justin Stein – the Elgin Stakes and the third leg of this series, the six-furlong Lake Erie Stakes on dirt at Fort Erie.

“He’s just improving,” Ross said. “This race is a distance he hasn’t gone before, but I think the way he is training, he can relax in the race. Justin thinks so too, that we can get this done going a mile and a sixteenth.”

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Garofoli finished third in the Elgin and fourth in the Lake Erie before ending up fifth against older rivals most recently in the final leg of the Woodbine Turf Sprint Series, which was taken off the turf.

Junior Hot Shot and Garofoli worked together Nov. 8, covering five furlongs in 1:00.

“They worked in a minute and galloped out [six furlongs] in 1:13 and change,” Ross said. “That was a nice effort together.”

Five others were entered in the Lake Ontario – No More Options, Summer Commander, Jo Daddy, Cornwall, and Cooler Man.

Ashbridges Bay Stakes

Hurricane Clair is taking a massive drop in the Ashbridges Bay for fillies. She contested all three legs of the Canadian Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred sophomore fillies, finishing third in the Woodbine Oaks, second in the Bison City Stakes, and first in the Wonder Where Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Hurricane Clair was favored against the boys most recently in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Stakes, the anchor leg of the Canadian Triple Crown on the main turf. She looked like the controlling speed on paper, but ended up attending a soft pace on the outside before fading to trail the seven-horse field.

“I think it was a little too much to ask from her and it was too far,” Drexler said. “The way the race set up, we didn’t get the greatest trip. It would have been better to let her go a little bit and let her open up a couple [lengths]. Going around in the two path, it just never set up properly. I knew we were in trouble most of the way.”

Little Teddy competed in each of the first three legs of this series, winning the five-furlong Georgian Bay Stakes on the inner turf and then finishing second in the six-furlong Thunder Bay Stakes on the main turf. She’s coming off a third in the Rondeau Bay Stakes at Fort Erie.

This will be Little Teddy’s first two-turn attempt. The daughter of Frac Daddy is out of a half-sister to Bison City winner Brooklynsway, dam of Grade 1-winning millionaire Adare Manor.

Completing the field are Never Silent, Frac Amour, Nikita’s Gem, War Painter, and Secret Load.

Post time is earlier than usual at 12:50 p.m.

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