Moira back in top form for E.P. Taylor
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario –Reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Moira showed her true colors last out with a dominant score in the Grade 2 Canadian. The powerful bay will try to make amends for her frustrating run in last year’s Grade 1 E.P. Taylor in this year’s edition of the $750,000 turf event for fillies and mares on Sunday.
Moira ran second as the favorite in each of her first three starts this year, all in graded stakes at Woodbine. She ended her slide most recently when she aired in the Canadian with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, the kind of breakout performance trainer Kevin Attard was hoping for.
“I think she got a trip in a race that unfolded like you would hope to see,” Attard said. “All three of her previous races were good. There was just some bad racing luck in a couple of them. I didn’t expect her to win that emphatically, but she always trained like a very good horse and we’ve always thought of her that way. It was nice to see her put it together.”
Moira was demoted from a close second to eighth in last year’s 1 1/4-mile Taylor after impeding several rivals along the way.
“Going into last year’s Taylor, she was a 3-year-old going on the turf for the first time against older fillies and mares,” Attard recalled. “It was a lot to ask of her. She didn’t get a good trip. She caused some problems for herself and she also ran into a pocket where there was no room. I thought she fared very well. Arguably, she could have been the best horse that day.”
Like Moira, With The Moonlight’s connections are hoping the Taylor is a springboard to the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. Based in England with trainer Charlie Appleby, the normally consistent daughter of Frankel has been laid up since a subpar showing in the Group 2 Dahlia at Newmarket in May.
“It was soft that day and she likes firm ground,” assistant trainer Chris Durham pointed out.
Durham said With The Moonlight has settled in well at Woodbine since shipping in last Sunday along with Canadian International favorite Nations Pride.
“She’s in good form, good order,” Durham explained. “Charlie’s had this race in mind for her. We’re hoping for a big run. Graham Colbert, who rides her every day, is really happy with her. If she runs a decent enough race, she could be a Breeders’ Cup horse as well.”
Fev Rover bested Moira in the Grade 2 Nassau in her season opener July 1 and subsequently notched the Grade 1 Beverly D. at Colonial before a flat fourth in the Canadian.
“She just threw a clunker,” said trainer Mark Casse, regarding the Canadian. “I don’t know if she was in heat, but she wasn’t herself. She didn’t come with anything close to her best game. [Assistant trainer David Adams] is really happy with the way she’s trained since then. I think you’ll see the real Fev Rover this weekend.”
Rounding out the Taylor field are Amazing Grace, Skims, Aspen Grove, Consumer Spending, Atomic Blonde, Rocky Sky, and Kalifornia Queen.
Nearctic Stakes
Casse entered Lucky Score and Ice Chocolat among a group of 13 in Sunday’s Grade 2 Nearctic, a six-furlong turf sprint worth $250,000.
Stretch-runner Lucky Score rallied outside for third last out in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, as Ice Chocolat saved ground over what seemed like the slowest part of the main turf while finishing a dull fifth.
“I’m wondering if [Lucky Score] is really just a come-from-behind sprinter,” Casse said. “The last two or three races, he made big moves and flattened out the last sixteenth of a mile.”
Casse felt that several of his runners on the Sept. 16 card struggled while racing inside.
“Ice Chocolat, My Boy Prince, and Golden Canary were all down on the rail and were exhausted,” Casse recalled. “Everybody who came down the middle of the track were like freight trains. Usually, it’s the other way around – when they take down the rail, you’re running on new ground.”
Big Invasion will be in the mix for trainer Christophe Clement. He was cross-entered in the Belmont Turf Sprint on Saturday, but reportedly will go here due to the threat of rain in New York.
Algonquin Stakes
The Attard-trained Pipit experiments on the grass in the $200,000 Algonguin Stakes, a five-furlong inner course dash for 2-year-olds of either sex.
Pipit graduated second time out over males in the July 16 Victoria Stakes, while leaving the future stakes winners Mattingly and Going Up back in second and third.
“I was hoping to get a start into her before this race, but she got hit by a virus that swept through the barn,” Attard said. “I got the opportunity to breeze her on the grass earlier in the summer and I thought she worked really well. I think she should give a good account of herself.”
Casse sends out Golden Canary, Sugar Treat, and Dancing Duchess in the eight-horse field.
–additional reporting by David Grening
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