Miss Mo Mentum rallies late in Selene Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Miss Mo Mentum had all the momentum in Saturday’s Grade 3 Selene Stakes, catching 8-5 favorite Dixie Moon in deep stretch to take the 1 1/16-mile route in near track record time at Woodbine.

Miss Mo Mentum ($12.50) trailed the eight-horse field of 3-year-old fillies early, as Remember Daisy set a fast pace, while being pressed by Get Explicit and second choice Go Noni Go.

Miss Mo Mentum rallied along the rail into contention on the far turn, where she awaited room until early in the stretch. Dixie Moon made her way through traffic to assume command at the eighth pole, but Miss Mo Mentum kicked in after finding a seam and got home on top by a neck. Safe to Say finished six lengths in arrears in third.

Over a Tapeta surface which got quicker during the afternoon, the final time was 1:42.36, which was just .20 off Woodbine’s synthetic track record.

Miss Mo Mentum gave jockey Patrick Husbands his third winner on the program. Trainer Mark Casse freshened her up after she ran two poor races on the dirt at Gulfstream in February and March.

“When these horses come to the (Tapeta), it’s a whole different scenario,” Husbands said. “Going into this race, I was very sweet on her. I only had one problem. The rail is good, speed is holding, and I drew the outside. Six furlongs out, I knew they were going along pretty fast, so I started to feel happy.”

Miss Mo Mentum earned $75,000 of the $134,000 purse for owner Gary Barber, who also won an allowance on the card with Black Canary.

“She’s a horse who we’ve really liked right from the beginning,” said Kathryn Sullivan, an assistant to Casse. “She’s just had some back luck, and ran in some tough races. It’s really nice to see her get to the winner’s circle, where she should be.”