Woodbine: Inglorious targets rebound in Trillium Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Inglorious was on top of the world here two Junes back, winning the Woodbine Oaks and then doubling up in the Queen’s Plate for trainer Josie Carroll.

Not much has gone right for Inglorious since then, however, and she will be looking to end an eight-race losing streak here in Saturday’s $125,000 Trillium Stakes.

The Trillium, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares, attracted a field of seven, and Inglorious is the even-money favorite on Woodbine oddsmaker Ernie Perri’s morning line.

Inglorious has placed in four stakes since the Queen’s Plate – all graded with two on the turf and two on synthetic surfaces – but finished a lackluster sixth in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare over 1 1/16 miles of Keeneland’s Polytrack last time out.

“We’re just writing that off; things just didn’t go well,” said Carroll, who trains Inglorious for Donna and Vern Dubinsky. “Her race prior to that, on the turf at Gulfstream, was great, but we decided to put her back on the Poly for the Trillium. She’s been pretty successful on the Polytrack here.”

Luis Contreras, who piloted Inglorious during her championship 3-year-old campaign, regains the mount.

Sisterly Lov will be stretching back out after finishing eighth when making her local bow in the six-furlong Whimsical on April 28, and should show to better advantage here for trainer Mark Casse.

“That was a last-minute decision to come up here,” said Casse, who had the Kentucky-bred 5-year-old Sisterly Love at Keeneland earlier this spring. “She never even got to breeze over the track.

“She’s not three-quarters type of speed. She gets a little intimidated sometimes, and she just kind of ran very spotty. Running her long, we’ll put her on the lead or close to the lead.

“I can tell you, too, we kind of feel like she’s doing better than she has since we’ve had her.”

Sisterly Love, who made her first three starts last year for trainer Bill White, was purchased privately by owner Gary Barber and was making her third appearance for her new connections in the Whimsical.

Also meriting respect in the Trillium will be Reconnect and Pure Blue Sky, who ended a nose apart as the 2-3 finishers behind the Woodbine Oaks-bound Original Script in the allowance prep for the stakes at 1 1/16 miles here May 18.

Reconnect, trained by Ashlee Brnjas, is an Ontario-sired 5-year-old and won the restricted La Prevoyante over one mile of turf here in 2011.

Pure Blue Sky, a hard-knocking Kentucky-bred 4-year-old, is trained by Sam DiPasquale, who also has entered Tee Game in the Trillium.

Tee Game, a 6-year-old, became a stakes winner here last September in the Algoma, a yearling sales stakes at 1 1/16 miles, and figures to be prominent in the early stages.

Rounding out the field for the Trillium will be Sarah Her Highness and Lonesome Town.