Northern Netti back from surgery for Fashion

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Northern Netti will put her unbeaten record on the line Sunday at Woodbine in the $150,000 Ontario Fashion Stakes, a six-furlong dash for fillies and mares.

Northern Netti, a New York-bred 3-year-old, won her lone 2-year-old outing on the lead last fall. She reappeared in a five-furlong allowance in April, winning from just off the pace by a half-length.

Trainer Reade Baker shipped Northern Netti to Belmont for the restricted Bouwerie Stakes on May 4. She was lightly regarded at 10-1 in that seven-furlong sprint, but she blew away the field under Eibar Coa, and was awarded a whopping 100 Beyer Figure.

Northern Netti has been idle since the Bouwerie because she underwent knee surgery, Baker said.

"She had a chip taken out of her knee after she ran in New York," he said. "She had three months off in Kentucky, and she came back and worked three five-eighths. We're ready to go."

Baker believes one of Northern Netti's assets is her tactical speed.

"Coa took her back without any problem," Baker recalled. "She just sat outside those horses. She's very talented."

Emma Wilson will ride Northern Netti for the first time in the Fashion.

The rapid 4-year-old Marina Ballerina figures to lead the way under Justin Stein.

Marina Ballerina joined trainer Sam DiPasquale's barn after capturing the Feb. 2 Manatee Stakes at Tampa. She failed to make the board in her first two local appearances, but she led throughout the Repercussion Stakes on the grass July 9.

Marina Ballerina then ran third in the Grade 3 Royal North Stakes, and was second in the Grade 3 Seaway Stakes on the Polytrack. Most recently in the seven-furlong Avowal Stakes on turf, she made most of the running before ending up second.

"She was a pretty wound-up filly when we got her," said DiPasquale. "We spent most of the year trying to unwind her and get a few more steps out of her. We took the blinkers off. She had a couple of nice workouts and [confidence-boosting] races. She learned to relax.

"It was a pleasant feeling last time when she went the first quarter in 22.80. It was the slowest quarter of her life, and her finish was good."

Chicago shipper Miss Macy Sue has two solid synthetic races on her record - a first and a second in the 2007 and 2008 runnings of the Presque Isle Masters on that track's Tapeta surface.