Mrs. Began breathing easy

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Successful throat surgery enabled Mrs. Began to graduate in style in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes. She could strike again Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Ontario Lassie, a 1 1/16-mile stakes for Ontario-bred 2-year-old fillies.

Mrs. Began, trained by Reade Baker for Zayat Stable, closed belatedly for third in each of her first two outings, including in the Shady Well Stakes. She was operated on after ending up fourth in the Sept. 3 Muskoka Stakes.

"She had an entrapped epiglottis, which would make any horse stop," Baker said. "Once we fixed it, I expected" improvement.

In the restricted Princess Elizabeth, Mrs. Began stalked the pace along the inside and then wore down favored Victory Romance to win by a neck. Her 1 1/16-mile clocking of 1:47.10 translated into a 75 Beyer Speed Figure.

"As she's gotten older, you see improvement all the time," Baker said. "She's gotten more intelligent and more mature. She's grown into herself. At the start, she wasn't with it, but now she's getting with it. She's sound and healthy and wants to go around two turns. Not all of them are in that position."

Jim McAleney retains the mount on Mrs. Began.

Trainer Mark Casse, who bought Mrs. Began as a yearling, is running Six Pack Sammy and Tip Toe Annie in the Lassie.

Six Pack Sammy took the long way home when second while debuting in the seven-furlong Muskoka, and subsequently won her maiden over a mile and 70 yards.

Most recently, Six Pack Sammy had traffic problems before ending up fourth in the Grade 3 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill.

"It looked like she was going to win," Casse said. "She was down inside and maybe got a little intimidated and flattened out a little late. The filly who won the race came back to win the Golden Rod Stakes."

Tip Toe Annie rallied for second in each of her first two races, both in Ontario-sired sprints. With the addition of blinkers last time, she won her maiden over a mile and 70 yards under Patrick Husbands.

"I thought her last race was quite good," Casse said. "Patrick said the blinkers made her much more aggressive early. He said the first two times he rode her, he couldn't get her into the race. She's been training well. I wouldn't be surprised to see her get a piece of the pie."

Husbands, who was named on both Casse runners, is expected to ride Six Pack Sammy.