Preferred Guest wins maiden in South Ocean Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Preferred Guest ($5.70) graduated in style in Saturday’s $100,000 South Ocean Stakes at Woodbine, outrunning the slight favorite Notice Me in deep stretch to win by three-quarters of a length.

Preferred Guest saved ground in a stalking position in the tightly bunched five-horse field, as Miss Ariel set slow fractions, with Notice Me tracking in second on the backstretch.

Preferred Guest was angled wide in the lane, and she mowed down the leaders inside the sixteenth pole to prevail in a time of 1:46.10.

Miss Ariel faded on end to finish 2 1/2 lengths behind Notice Me in third. Falcon’s View and Crumlin Time completed the order of finish.

Jerome Lermyte rode Preferred Guest for trainer Mark Casse, who added blinkers to her equipment.

“We had the chance to work her with the blinkers, and she responded very well with it,” Lermyte said. “Today, we came in confident. The trainer asked me to ride her a little bit closer, and it paid off.”

A daughter of Society’s Chairman, Preferred Guest earned $60,000 for G G Racing Stables.