Littlemiss Allison tries to stay perfect

EDMONTON, Alberta - Littlemiss Allison puts her perfect 3-for-3 record on the line as she stretches out to one mile in the Freedom of the City Stakes for 2-year-old fillies here at Northlands Park on Sunday. Her five rivals will hope Littlemiss Allison shows more weakness going long than she has sprinting.

A daughter of Jump Start, Littlemiss Allison gave a glimpse of her potential when she won her 3 1/2-furlong debut on June 6 at Stampede Park, although she defeated just three rivals. In her next start, Littlemiss Allison exploded into the limelight with a 6 3/4-length victory at Northlands in the Princess Margaret Stakes going six furlongs.

While bettors let her slip away at a shade under 3-1 in that race, they did not commit the same oversight in the 6 1/2-furlong Bird of Pay, sending Littlemiss Allison to post at 2-5. Littlemiss Allison and jockey Rickey Walcott did not disappoint, drawing off to win by a comfortable 1 3/4 lengths.

Bears Artiste has the unfortunate distinction of being the only filly in this race who is a two-time casualty of Littlemiss Allison's winning streak. After finishing fourth in the Princess Margaret, Bears Artiste rebounded with a surprise second-place finish at 12-1 in the Bird of Pay. Most recently, Bears Artiste suffered a narrow defeat under returning rider Desmond Bryan in the filly division of the Yearling Sales Stakes, won by Ontario invader Victory Romance.

New to the stakes scene is Testy Hussy, who is ridden by Quincy Welch and won her maiden in convincing fashion here Aug. 6.