Peace Sign steps up to Passing Mood Stakes after debut win

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – In a race with plenty of unknowns, Peace Sign may have found the right spot to make her stakes debut in Saturday’s $100,000 Passing Mood, a seven-furlong sprint for Ontario-sired 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine.

When debuting against Ontario-sired maidens July 20, Peace Sign pressed the pace on the outside on the turn. She opened up a daylight lead in the stretch of that six-furlong turf dash and held on to prevail in 1:09.60, under Rafael Hernandez.

Trainer Jamie Attard said that Peace Sign, a homebred owned by Howie Walton, had a few setbacks before making it to the races.

“We’ve always liked her,” Attard said. “She was working really good around this time last year. She came up with a little bit of a shin, so we backed off her a little, and when we got her back, she ended up hurting herself in a dirt work, so we had to give her the rest of the year off. I took my time with her this year. We worked her like 10 times before she ran in that race, and she worked really well. She might have gotten a little green down the lane, and she only won by a half-a-length, but 1:09.60 isn’t a bad time.”

Attard said Peace Sign has thrived since her debut, and he has reason to believe that she’ll handle the step up in class and the longer distance.

“We gave her a little freshener, went a little easy with her, and she’s had three good works,” Attard said. “We’ve started her works off about a length behind her company. She’s been settling really nice and finishing up strong with the company before galloping out good. I really don’t think seven-eighths will be a problem for her. She’s doing everything right. In her first work back after she won, Rafael said: ‘Jamie, this filly feels like she got better off of that race,’ which is always nice to hear from the leading jock.”

Speedy Soul, the 125-pound highweight, could be regarded as a vulnerable favorite in the eight-horse field. The Bison City Stakes winner, she wound up second two races ago when going a mile in her turf debut in the Grade 3 Ontario Colleen, but she trailed as the favorite last time in the Wonder Where Stakes. Was the 1 1/4-mile distance too far for her in the Wonder Where, or is she over the top?

Ciuri and Sav, who ran one-two in the June 28 Lady Angela Stakes, are both trying the grass for the first time. Ciuri is a half-sister to the Grade 2-winning turf sprinter Something Extra.

The Passing Mood goes as the eighth on an 11-race card.