Tough to overlook Miss Dorothy
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Miss Dorothy finished third in the prep for the Dance Smartly here on June 29, but she is passing on that Grade 2, $300,000 stakes in favor of a comfortable spot here at Woodbine on Friday.
The third-level optional $80,000 claimer for fillies and mares over one mile of turf offers a purse of $78,400 and will go as the sixth race on a solid nine-race program.
Also on tap is a second-level optional $62,500 claimer for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles; a second-level allowance for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds and upward at seven furlongs; and the first 2-year-old allowance race of the meeting.
Miss Dorothy, owned by Gary Wellwood and Larry Titchner and trained by Scott Fairlie, set the early pace in the Dance Smartly prep but was overhauled by a pair of sharp rivals in Scarlett Butterfly and She's Indy Money.
While Scarlett Butterfly is going on to Sunday's Dance Smartly and She's Indy Money is slated to return to Polytrack for the same day's Ontario Matron, Miss Dorothy will take some beating here under Todd Kabel.
"Other than Greeley's Flame, I don't see a whole lot of other speed in the race," said Fairlie, who has entered Miss Dorothy for the $80,000 claiming price. "We should be on the lead, or just off it."
Miss Dorothy, a Kentucky-bred 5-year-old, has won 4 of 10 starts and more than $200,000 since being claimed for $40,000 by her current connections in May 2006.
Todd Kabel, who rode Miss Dorothy for the first time in her latest, retains the mount.
Wedded Woman, a 4-year-old filly trained by Brian Lynch, won her seasonal bow in a second-level allowance over 1 1/16 miles here Mayo21, but has not started in the interim.
Patrick Husbands retains the mount on Wedded Woman, who won her maiden on the turf at Gulfstream in March 2006.
Miss Dorothy and Wedded Woman also are nominated to the $125,000 Ontario Matron, a 1o1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.
Greeley's Flame, the filly cited by Fairlie as the main pace opponent for Miss Dorothy, will be trying two turns for the first time. She will be ridden by apprentice rider Catherine O'Brien. Trained by Mac Benson, Greeley's Flame will be making her third start of the season.
The stakes winners Our Madison and London Snow are wake-up possibilities here.