Silent Treat pointing to Zadracarta

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – In a full field of 12 fillies and mares, a lot could have gone wrong for Silent Treat, who started from the rail in last Saturday’s $126,600 Ballade Stakes at Woodbine. But luckily for trainer Scott Fairlie, he was able to describe Silent Treat’s trip as “uneventful” after the race.

“She went right to the lead; it was good,” he said. “She’s the kind of filly that’s going to give you everything she’s got.”

With jockey Michelle Rainford aboard, Silent Treat set quick early fractions en route to a two-length victory over Rootham Triple E’s, stopping the clock in 1:09.79 for six furlongs. She earned a career-best 77 Beyer Speed Figure.

Although she got the job done with a front-running trip Saturday, Fairlie noted that Silent Treat has been versatile.

“She can do anything,” he said. “She can rate, she’s come off of the pace. It’s basically up to the scenario of the race.”

The Ballade marked the first stakes win for Silent Treat, a homebred for the Stablemates partnership who wintered in Ontario and began prepping for the Ballade in March at Woodbine.

“There’s not a whole lot to her,” Fairlie said. “She’s a very small filly, and she puts a lot into her gallops, so it’s pretty easy to get her fit. She gets herself fit.”

With a lack of sprint options available for older Ontario-sired fillies and mares in the near future, Fairlie is pointing Silent Treat toward the Zadracarta Stakes on June 29, a restricted overnight stakes over seven furlongs on turf for Ontario-bred fillies and mares.

But with that race more than seven weeks away, Fairlie might opt to run back sooner, as Silent Treat is still eligible for the open non-winners-of-two allowance condition since four of her five career victories have come against restricted company.