Ontario Sired Heritage Series opens with two divisional stakes
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The speedy Souper Diva goes for her third stakes win in Sunday’s $100,000 Georgian Bay, one of two five-furlong inner turf sprints for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds on the card, along with the $100,000 Lake Huron. The stakes are the opening legs of the Ontario Sired Heritage Series, a four-leg sequence for each sex run under a variety of conditions throughout the year.
Souper Diva has made all nine of her starts on Tapeta, including the $200,000 Muskoka for graduates of Canadian yearling sales and the $100,000 Victorian Queen for Ontario-sired females late last summer.
This year, Souper Diva has finished second in both of her outings against older open allowance company, most recently behind the next-out winner Home for a Rest. She has worked two half-miles over the turf training course leading up to this engagement, to the satisfaction of trainer Steve Chircop and jockey Jose Campos.
“The dogs were far out when we worked her on the turf,” Chircop recalled. “She worked very easy with Jose Campos. He says turf will definitely not be an issue. She moved over it very well.”
Chircop said he has been pointing Souper Diva to this race, even though it’s shorter than her optimal distance.
“The company should be a little bit easier than running against open and older mares,” Chircop pointed out. “I don’t think she’s at her best going five-eighths. She needs four strides and then she gets going. She’s got a lot of speed, but not that breakaway speed.”
Trainer John Mattine sends out Money Heist in the Georgian Bay, which is for fillies, and Quadzilla in the Lake Huron, which is for colts and geldings.
Mattine predicted that the improving maiden Money Heist will make a successful transition to turf racing.
“Her action is very smooth,” Mattine said. “I always think a horse with that type of action will take to the turf. She is a not a big, oversized filly. She is compact and well put together.”
Lake Huron
Quadzilla should be favored in the Lake Huron under Romero Maragh. Quadzilla ran spotty during his six-start juvenile campaign but is unbeaten in two outings this year, a pair of front-running Ontario-sired allowance scores.
“I always liked this horse,” Mattine said. “He’s a full brother to [stakes winner] Junior Hot Shot. He was struggling last year. He was trying to find his way and he was body sore, so we finally ended up gelding him. That helped immensely.”
Wine After Whiskey could vie for favoritism with Quadzilla and might link up on the lead with him in his turf debut. The Reload gelding graduated in an open maiden special in December and beat nonwinners-of-two Ontario-sired allowance stock with a big 84 Beyer Speed Figure off a five-month layoff May 15.
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Trainer Michelle Love has reason to believe that Wine After Whiskey will handle the inner turf and the tougher competition.
“He has a lot of natural talent,” Love said.
A suicidal speed duel could set the table for the inconsistent stakes winner Silver Is Best, who ran second in his season opener in the Woodstock Stakes before finishing up the track most recently versus older open allowance opponents.
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