Pierce high on half-sister to Horse of the Year Up With the Birds

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Singwiththebirds, a 3-year-old half-sister to 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year Up With the Birds, debuted in style on the Woodbine turf course June 26, and trainer Malcolm Pierce thinks he has a quality filly on his hands.

“She’s a pretty special filly, I think,” he said. “She had trained very well, and unfortunately, she was scratched at the gate the first time she was supposed to run. There was another horse scratched beside her this time. We got the job done, and she’s quite a nice little filly that we’re hoping is stakes-caliber.”

Singwiththebirds got plenty of experience out of that first start, as she broke slowly in the one-mile maiden event but was able to settle into stride along the rail behind a slow pace. At the top of the stretch, she patiently awaited racing room and looked to split horses, but her seam quickly closed up, and jockey Eurico Da Silva opted to go up the rail instead. Singwiththebirds surged along the fence in the final sixteenth of a mile and won by a length.

“She got more experience than I was looking for,” Pierce said.

Pierce said Singwiththebirds likely will surface again in the Ontario Damsel Stakes on July 18 or the Wonder Where Stakes on Aug. 9.

“She’s nominated to the Ontario Damsel, but if we do that, we’d be coming back in three weeks, and then the Wonder Where is three weeks later,” he said. “We might just train her six weeks into the Wonder Where. We’re discussing our next options.”