Tamara primed for peak effort

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Tamara, who was scratched from last Sunday’s Ontario Colleen Handicap, should be favored in Thursday’s seventh race at Woodbine, a six-furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares.

Tamara graduated second-time out on the main track May 19, and subsequently ran third behind classy Saint Bernadette in allowance company.

Trainer David Bell tried Tamara on the grass June 29, in the 6 1/2-furlong Ontario Damsel Stakes, in which she rallied wide to finish just a length behind the winner in third.

Tamara was a beaten favorite in a July 23 allowance on the main track, but is coming off a superb effort in the prep for the Colleen. She stalked a rapid pace in that one-mile allowance, and then vied for the lead in the stretch before giving way to a charging Sweet Storm Creek. She earned a Beyer Figure of 84 in the race, which was slightly higher than what she received for the Damsel.

Tamara worked a half-mile in a sizzling 46 seconds on Aug. 18. Patrick Husbands, who was aboard for her maiden win, picks up the mount on Tamara.

Also entered in the $63,500 race are Grazettes, Kelli’s Song, Marjorie Daw, Cousin Charlotte, Aftica, Classic Ingrid, Barbarees Hill, and Catch Me Deputy.

Just eight races were carded for Thursday, instead of the usual nine. Five of the races have a field of seven horses or less.

Greattobeloved will shoot for her fourth consecutive victory in the sixth, a six-furlong allowance for fillies and mares.

Greattobeloved launched her streak against maiden special weight opposition June 28, and then won an $80,000 claimer in her next start. She most recently parlayed an ideal stalking trip into an authoritative score in a six-furlong preliminary allowance.

Greattobeloved is drawn favorably on the outside, with a ton of speed to her inside, and should have another good trip under Simon Husbands.

Rounding out the sixth-race field are Big Cheque, Light the Path, Elusive Thought, Expected Song, Fatima’s Princess, and Moonlite Walk.

Elusive Thought won the May 4 Fury Stakes on an easy lead, but has been a disappointment in her two subsequent outings, including one on turf in the Ontario Damsel Stakes. She has been off for two months, but was victorious following a layoff in her season debut.

Expected Song has hit the board in all four of her starts at the meeting, which includes an easy maiden

triumph and a respectable third-place finish behind Winter Garden in the allowance prep for the Duchess Stakes.