Squires hopes Gospel Way will be a saint in Victoria

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Gospel Way, a sharp debut winner for trainer Nathan Squires, will be looking to double up in Sunday’s $100,000 Victoria Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong dash for 2-year-olds at Woodbine.

Sent off at 24-1 in a five-furlong maiden special June 28, Gospel Way saved ground in third on the turn before jockey Emile Ramsammy angled him wide for the drive. He mowed down the speed to win by 1 1/4 lengths over the next-out winner Dancing Dragon.

“He’s not the easiest horse in the world to get along with,” Squires said. “He can be a handful. He’s dropped Emile four or five times. My biggest concern on Sunday is his behavior, not his ability, because I know he can run.”

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Trainer Gail Cox entered two good-looking maiden winners, Ready to Repeat and All Canadian. Ready to Repeat could be favored off a fast second-out score on the inner turf July 12.

The Victoria drew a field of six and goes as the eighth on an 11-race card.

Minshall skips juvenile stakes

Conspicuous by her absence from the weekend’s 2-year-old stakes was trainer Barb Minshall, who bypassed the My Dear with Dreaming of Drew and the Victoria with Lion of the Sea.

After ending up second in her 4 1/2-furlong debut, Dreaming of Drew won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special by six lengths with a big 81 Beyer Speed Figure on July 18. Minshall said she didn’t want to run the daughter of freshman sire Speightster back on short rest in the My Dear, a race she won in 2017 with Dream It Is.

“I didn’t want to run her back in two weeks,” Minshall said. “She’s an Ontario-bred, so we might have a few options down the road. I was high on her from the get-go. Dream It Is was a nice horse, but she was strictly a sprinter who probably wasn’t going to develop scope as a 3-year-old. But this filly has got all the scope in he world. I think she’ll go two turns.”

Minshall is planning on running Dreaming of Drew back in the $100,000 Catch A Glimpse Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong turf sprint here Aug. 23.

“If she runs well there, we’ll be looking at the Natalma with her,” Minshall said.

The Grade 1 Natalma is scheduled for Sept. 20.

Lion of the Sea won the first juvenile race of the meet on June 14 going 4 1/2 furlongs with a 71 Beyer. He was the first starter for Ontario freshman sire Reload. Minshall said she will wait for the 6 1/2-furlong Simcoe, a $250,000 stakes for graduates of local yearling sales on Aug. 30.