Meilani surges late to take Alywow Stakes
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Meilani gutted it out in the final furlong to land Sunday’s $101,000 Alywow Stakes while giving trainer Kevin Attard his fourth winner on the Woodbine card.
Former leading Woodbine rider Kazushi Kimura, now a mainstay in California, put Meilani in a stalking position near pacesetter Happy Destination in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-old fillies.
Meilani wore down Happy Destination late to prevail by a half-length, in a slow time of 1:18.10. Flowerhead rallied for third and was followed by Stroke of Genius, So Kate, Slippers, Kingsolver, Wooten Warrior, favored Mony Mony, and Angel’s Prospect.
Meilani ($7.40) was coming off a front-running nose loss in the seven-furlong Ruling Angel Stakes.
“It seemed like some horses might be sending harder, so my plan was that I didn’t need to go to the lead,” Kimura said. “I was trying to (work out) a trip. I just sat beside (Happy Destination). She just kept grinding.”
A daughter of Omaha Beach, Meilani banked $60,000 in her first stakes success for the partnership of Madaket Stable and X-Men Racing.
“It’s been a great weekend,” said Attard, who won three races on Saturday. “A lot of hard work was put in by the team. Meilani has always shown talent. We were probably running her a little bit farther than she wants to go over the winter at Gulfstream. When we brought her back home, we had the opportunity to cut her back in distance. She’s got a lot of speed, so she uses that to her advantage.”
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