Mrs D goes long in Mazarine after missing cut in Breeders' Cup
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mrs D never made it into the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint field after she was pre-entered, much to the dismay of trainer Steve Chircop. Among a five-horse field of fillies, she goes long for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 3 Mazarine, the first of two $175,000 stakes on the Woodbine card for 2-year-olds, along with the Grade 3 Grey.
Mrs D has been competitive in sprint stakes on the Tapeta and turf, over which she took the Grade 3 Algonquin from off the pace going five furlongs on the inner course on Oct. 3. That breakout performance swayed Chircop to pre-enter her in the Breeders’ Cup, and he believes she could have given a good account of herself in Friday’s race at Keeneland.
“I don’t know that she would have won, but I thought for sure she would have been competitive,” Chircop explained. “The horse has been training so well. She’s doing so good right now. I’m positive she would have run a good race.”
Mrs D breezed five furlongs through the fog in a bullet 59.60 seconds on the Tapeta last Sunday.
“She started off slow, which was the plan, and her last half was in 46.40,” Chircop said. “She galloped out really good. I was so happy, but I was sick at the same time because I know she’s sitting on such a good race.”
Chircop said the daughter of Bolt d’Oro is charting unknown territory with the stretch-out in distance.
“The two turns is definitely a question mark,” Chircop said. “But I think if horses get it, it’s usually in their first start. In a five-horse field, she can control things if she needs to. She’s got stamina on the mare’s side, and Bolt d’Oro won a stakes winner going long at 2. If she’s a good horse the way I think she is, they can overcome things.”
Sunday Finery is arguably the one to fear most in the Mazarine off her 13 1/2-length maiden special victory over 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 26. The daughter of first-year sire Mystic Guide is trained by Jamie Begg.
Grey
Speaker’s Speech could graduate in style among a group of seven in the 1 1/16-mile Grey. The son of freshman sire Speaker’s Corner looped the field after a tardy start and was caught late by De la Renta when debuting in the Aug. 15 Soaring Free Stakes. He lacked room along the inside most recently in the Algonquin before closing late for third.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing him stretch out,” jockey Rafael Hernandez said. “He has a great stride and does things very easily. He never fights you and he does whatever you ask him to do. He has a good mind and loves to compete.”
Trainer Mark Casse sends out Speaker’s Speech and Play It Again, who is adding Lasix off a wide sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Summer.
Trainer Barbara Minshall runs stakes winners Uncle Dodo and King’s Counsel in the historic Grey, which has an impressive list of winners including Dancer’s Image, Kennedy Road, Sunny’s Halo, and Mine That Bird.
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