Simon pointing Sister Peacock to Graham Memorial

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Stu Simon got his Woodbine meet off to a strong start, recording a win with his first starter when Sister Peacock captured the Star Shoot Stakes on April 21.

Simon said he is pointing Sister Peacock toward the $100,000 William D. Graham Memorial, an overnight stakes over 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf that is scheduled for June 8 here. The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Real Solution now has a career record of three wins from five starts, and has finished no worse than second.

Simon could have also opted to point Sister Peacock toward the Grade 3, $125,000 Selene Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta on May 18, but said she will get her opportunity to stretch out later on in the season.

“She will go back long again,” he said. “It’s just a gradual stretch-out again. There’s races later on that I could see running her in. There’s a flat mile on the turf later on this summer and stuff like that.”

Sister Peacock raced twice over the winter at Gulfstream Park, recording runner-up finishes in a pair of starter stakes over one mile on the turf. Simon said he was pleased with Sister Peacock’s progression while training at the Palm Meadows Training Center.

“She’s done what you want a 2-year-old turning 3 to do,” he said. “She’s advanced physically and mentally and she’s gone on to be a nice kind of filly. It’s looking like we have her on the right path again.”

Bold Script possible for Selene

Bold Script earned Canadian champion 2-year-old filly honors for 2018 at the Sovereign Awards ceremony on April 18, and is now being pointed towards the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies on June 8.

Simon said it was possible Bold Script could use the Grade 3, $125,000 Selene Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta on May 18 as her final prep for the Oaks.

“We haven’t totally made our mind up but we’re most likely leaning to run her in the Selene as a prep for the Oaks,” he said.

Bold Script made her 3-year-old debut at Gulfstream Park earlier this winter, running fifth in the Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes on dirt on March 2. Following the Davona Dale, Simon said, Bold Script had a minor issue that has prevented her from working since March 29, but added that he is not concerned about her fitness level heading into a potential start in the Selene.

“She just had a little hiccup and with what’s ahead of her here, we decided to play it safe and regroup with her,” he said. “She’s going to breeze here this weekend. After [the Davona Dale], she had two works and she only had about 10 days out of training. She’s trained all winter, so she’s more than ready.”

While most of Bold Script’s 2-year-old campaign was on the turf, she capped off her season with a dominant 7 1/2-length victory on Tapeta in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes last November. She could be among the favorites for the Woodbine Oaks next month with a strong showing in the Selene.

Summer Sunday to Ballade

Summer Sunday began her career impressively as a 2-year-old in 2017, winning all three of her starts, including the Nandi Stakes and Muskoka Stakes. She picked up another stakes victory in last season’s Fury Stakes, but missed most of the year due to injury.

Summer Sunday returned from nearly a year layoff on April 11 at Keeneland, and now has her sights set on a start in the $100,000 Ballade Stakes for Ontario-sired fillies and mares over six furlongs on Tapeta on May 11, Simon said.

Summer Sunday ran sixth in a six-furlong sprint on dirt at Keeneland on April 11. She had a similar start to her season last year, finishing ninth in the Grade 3 Beaumont Stakes on dirt at Keeneland before returning to Woodbine to win the Fury Stakes. Simon said Summer Sunday has been training well since returning to Woodbine this year, having breezed four furlongs in 46.80 seconds on April 27.

“She worked fantastic here last weekend,” he said. “A horse just can’t work any better. She’s about as good as she’s ever been, that filly.”

Following last April’s Fury Stakes, Summer Sunday suffered a knee injury that kept her out of training. Simon said it she could have come back late last season, but her connections wanted to ensure she was fully recovered from her injuries before resuming training.

“It was one of those things where we could have brought her back last fall, but we gave her about twice as long off as we really needed to,” he said. “We really wanted to make sure.”