Maidens take center stage

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Ontario-sired maidens will be in the spotlight on Thursday's card at Woodbine, in the third, seventh, and eighth races.

I'llthinkaboutit should be prominent in the third, a five-furlong dash for 2-year-old fillies. Trained by Mike Doyle for owner/breeder Edmund Odette, I'llthinkaboutit led until deep stretch when second in her May 30 debut. A month later, in another 4 1/2-furlong maiden special, she ran evenly on a speed-favoring track to end up third.

Other possibilities in the third include first-time starter Threshold and Clementis, who chased home I'llthinkaboutit in both of her outings, while finishing sixth and fourth.

Bayland deserves top billing in the seventh, a seven-furlong contest for 3-year-olds and up.

Trainer Steve Asmussen claimed Bayland on behalf of owner Maggi Moss for $15,000 at Gulfstream in March, when the gelding rallied for second after getting away slowly.

Bayland didn't have the smoothest of trips in either of his local starts, both at the Ontario-sired maiden special level, in which he wound up fourth and third under jockey Luis Contreras.

Smart Flight and Quinzee also should make some noise in the seventh, although they both seem like dicey plays on the win end.

The obvious contenders in the finale on the eight-race card, a seven-furlong turf sprint for fillies and mares, are Yonge's Harbour, Saforica, and Moonlit Beauty.

Yonge's Harbour's most recent turf attempt, in an open maiden special June 13, resulted in a narrow loss to Sheraton Park, who subsequently captured a first-level allowance.

In her last two starts for owner/trainer Bev Buck, Yonge's Harbour finished a distant second and a flat fourth. Emile Ramsammy retains the mount on the 4-year-old.

Saforica was only an early factor in her lone appearance last year at 2, and she was a tired seventh when returning from a one-year layoff June 7. Her speed was much more effective July 5, when she led until late in the stretch before ending up second to Lucky n' Bold. Last Friday, Saforica breezed five-eighths in 1:00.80 around the cones over the turf training course.

Moonlit Beauty, like Saforica, is experimenting on the grass, and she is by the decent turf sire Perigee Moon. She was disqualified from the top spot in her penultimate outing, for which she got a 64 Beyer Speed Figure.