Minshall pair looks strong in Display Stakes
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Barbara Minshall sends out the promising duo of Uncle Dodo and Verge in Sunday’s $125,000 Display, one of two seven-furlong stakes for 2-year-olds on the Woodbine card along with the $125,000 Glorious Song for fillies.
Uncle Dodo graduated from off the pace in his second start, July 12 in the 5 1/2-furlong Victoria Stakes, for which he got a 79 Beyer Speed Figure.
Uncle Dodo tried the turf Aug. 15 in the 6 1/2-furlong Soaring Free Stakes, finishing a distant fifth after pressing the pace with the Wesley Ward-trained shipper Through the Years. Minshall said she was uncertain if it was the surface change or the hot pace that led to the Uncle Mo colt’s downfall.
“The whole race setup was silly,” Minshall recalled. “We pressed the pace with Wesley’s horse, so they were flying up front. We both folded after running up there too fast. Wesley’s horse finished last, and we were second-last.”
A Hoolie Racing Stable homebred out of the stakes-winning sprinter Dream It Is, Uncle Dodo has worked fast on the training track and the Tapeta leading up to the Display.
“He’s worked great,” Minshall said. “He’s gotten a lot better since his last race. He relaxes real nice. He’s a big, leggy thing. He’s got a lot of growing to do, this colt.”
Verge is owned by Minshall. Three weeks after a closing third at first asking Aug. 30, the son of Vino Rosso won another 5 1/2-furlong maiden special with a 65 Beyer.
“I thought he was a little green first time out,” Minshall said. “Second time, he did everything right. He’s probably a little more aggressive than [Uncle Dodo]. He’s trained well, too. I wanted to run him in an allowance on the turf last weekend, but there was nobody else in there.”
Only three others were entered in the Display, including the Kentucky shipper Unbridled Freedom and debut winner Odenkirk, who was supplemented by trainer Mark Casse.
Glorious Song
Trainer Josie Carroll runs Lamirada, Hope Is a Breeze, and Madeleine Swann among a field of seven in the Glorious Song, which she has won six times.
Lamirada was the fastest 2-year-old debut winner of the meet. She got an 86 Beyer when landing a six-furlong maiden special by 11 3/4 lengths on Aug. 8. She failed to stay a mile most recently on the main turf in the Grade 1 Natalma when fading to seventh after leading the way.
Hope Is a Breeze was a sagging fifth when debuting in a maiden-special sprint on the main turf Aug. 15. She led all the way in a subsequent 6 1/2-furlong maiden special on the Tapeta while receiving a 71 Beyer.
Madeleine Swann won her debut going short on the dirt at Monmouth before trailing in the Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga, after which she joined the Carroll barn. In her local debut on the grass in the Aug. 15 Catch a Glimpse Stakes, she raced wide near the leaders before fading and has since worked well on the Tapeta.
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