Northern Kraze surprises heavy favorite

Northern Kraze, with Chantal Sutherland aboard, wore down a game Roses 'n' Wine in deep stretch to capture the $252,800 Wonder Where Stakes, the final leg of the Canadian triple tiara at Woodbine.

Roses 'n' Wine set tepid fractions of 25.38 seconds, 50.23, and 1:15.49 in the 1 1/4-mile race, which was contested over a rain-softened turf course labeled yielding. Northern Kraze ($17.20) raced in fourth early on the backstretch, before moving into second approaching the far turn.

Northern Kraze gradually gained on Roses 'n' Wine through the stretch, and she prevailed by three-quarters of a length, in a time of 2:06.78. Money My Honey, the lukewarm 3-1 favorite, finished a distant third in the 12-horse field.

"She's got great endurance," said Sutherland of Northern Kraze, noting that Roses 'n' Wine "was strong. It was hard to get by her."

Northern Kraze finished 10th in the first leg of the series for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies, the Woodbine Oaks, and the Wonder Where was her first stakes win. She banked $150,000 for the partnership of trainer Mark Frostad and Anderson Farm.