A Touch of Red beats stablemate in South Ocean to give apprentice Jones first stakes win

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - In a tight finish, A Touch of Red outran her stablemate Ancient Spirit while notching her first stakes in Friday’s $100,000 South Ocean, one of two 6 1/2-furlong Ontario-sired stakes for 2-year-olds on the Woodbine card.

A Touch of Red fought for the lead with longshot Holiday With Amy along the backstretch and then turned back a bid from Ancient Spirit in the stretch to prevail by a neck, in a time of 1:16.68.

Anam Cara finished a clear third in the five-horse field of fillies, from which I’m a Bourbon Girl was scratched.

It was the first added-money score in just the third stakes mount for Woodbine’s leading apprentice, the 16-year-old Slade Jones.

“She was a little eager - she wanted to go early,” Jones said. “I know she has a lot of speed and she’s very capable of putting a lot of lengths on them. I was just trying to get her to relax and keep something turning for home.”

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A Touch of Red and Ancient Spirit were both even money, and A Touch of Red paid $4.10 as the slight favorite. Both are homebred daughters of Signature Red owned by Howie Walton’s Norseman Racing Stable.

* Poulin in O T ($3) put away a rival up front en route to a comfortable 1 1/2-length tally in Friday’s $100,000 Frost King Stakes.

Silent Fortune saved ground on the turn before making a bid to finish a clear second ahead of Posturing, who wound up third in the seven-horse field.

The final time was 1:16. Patrick Husbands rode Poulin in O T for the partnership of trainer Steve Owens and Empress Stable. It was the son of Reload’s third stakes victory and fourth win in five starts.

“He’s a natural speed horse, and I didn’t want to change nothing,” Husbands said. “He was enjoying it. Why change it?”

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