Marianne Rose wins Lassie Stakes

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Under a confident ride by Ben Russell, Marianne Rose won the $51,068 Lassie Stakes for two-year-old fillies at Hastings Saturday. Marianne Rose shipped up for the Lassie from Emerald Downs where she is trained by Richard Wright.

Breaking from the outside, Marianne Rose stalked an honest pace before taking a narrow lead on the stretch turn. She took a half-length lead into the stretch and then prevailed by a neck after a stretch long duel with Zaylaway.

"She's a tiny little horse but she has a lot of talent," said Russell. "She had been inside in all of her races at Emerald and it took her a while to figure out that she could tuck up on the outside of them. She really leveled out once she straightened out in the stretch."

Marianne Rose paid $4.30 as a slight favorite over Zaylaway. Final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track was 1:18.38.