Off runaway debut win, Mrs D tests stakes company in My Dear
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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Mrs D and Hesatrooper, both authoritative debut winners, head their respective 2-year-old stakes on Sunday at Woodbine – the My Dear for fillies and the Victoria. Both are 5 1/2-furlong Tapeta sprints worth $125,000.
Mrs D broke on top and never looked back in a six-length maiden win going five furlongs as the chalk on May 31. The daughter of Bolt d’Oro received a 75 Beyer Speed Figure under Jose Campos.
“She won easily enough,” trainer Steve Chircop said. “Jose said she wasn’t getting tired, but when she built her lead, she was waiting on horses. She was pretty green, not knowing what she was doing.”
Chircop said the Kentucky-bred Mrs D, a $100,000 yearling purchase, vindicated what was expected from her on debut.
“She ran a big number and she ran a big race, which we were expecting,” Chircop recalled. “Now the waters get deeper, so fingers crossed. We thought she was a good horse from the get-go. From her first work, she was on top of her game.”
The My Dear lured eight others, including Almightly One, Barometric, Gone and Plenty, Ghost Me, Mo Cookie, and Sarayu.
Almighty One and Barometric are both coming off a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight scores second time out on the Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs.
A daughter of superb synthetic sire Ghostzapper, Ghost Me led all the way in a June 12 maiden special weight over 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass at Aqueduct.
Gone and Plenty overcame a troubled trip to win her debut in 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on the grass at Churchill June 19.
Mo Cookie won her debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight here June 13, while Sarayu defeated Ontario-sired and $40,000 maidens in her June 20 opener going 4 1/2 furlongs.
Victoria Stakes
Hesatrooper is among a field of seven in the Victoria. With Pietro Moran aboard, the John Ross-trained gelding won his June 21 debut by 5 1/4 lengths going 4 1/2 furlongs while in for the $40,000 optional-claiming tag in a hybrid event that also included Ontario-sired runners.
“I liked him a lot,” Ross said. “I lived on the edge a little bit if someone had taken him. He started off a little green, looking around, which Pietro mentioned. He took a hold of him just to keep his mind on business, but when a horse came close to him turning for home, he took off. The way he took off, particularly from the eighth pole, and how he galloped out, I was impressed by that.”
Titan Ready and Uncle Dodo were both beaten a half-length when second and third, respectively, in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight on June 14. Titan Ready, who was favored, raced on the lead, while Uncle Dodo rallied from fifth to lose the place by a head.
Uncle Kef came charging from third to win his debut in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Presque Isle going away. His trainer, Kevin Rice, is no stranger to Woodbine, having won the Grade 3 Royal North with Ms. Tart last year.
Uncle Kef and Almighty One are both competing without shoes, which is common at Presque Isle.
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