Sultana scores in stakes debut with Maple Leaf victory

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Sultana made quite a splash in her stakes debut on Saturday at Woodbine when taking the Grade 3, $150,300 Maple Leaf in a tight finish under Rafael Hernandez.

Blitz set a lively pace in the 1 1/4-mile route for fillies and mares while being chased by Hurricane Clair and For Flying, as Sultana raced three wide at the rear of the seven-horse field.

For Flying made the lead briefly at the head of the stretch before Queens Command assumed command. Sultana kicked in strongly on the far outside to nail Queens Command on the wire, scoring by a head in a time of 2:05.72.

Sultana ($12.90) won her debut going long on the Tapeta on May 31 and was coming off an allowance score traveling 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf in her third start.

“We were always keen on her right from the get-go,” winning trainer Kevin Attard recalled. “Obviously, in her first race she was pretty impressive. She’s just figuring it out as she goes along, and improving like you would expect a horse having a late start to her career like she had. She came into this race working really well. We were pretty high on her today.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Always Dreaming, Sultana earned $90,000 for the partnership of Lou Donato, Theodore Manziaris, Paul Borrelli, and Lanni Bloodstock.

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