Woodbine: Lexie Lou thriving since adding blinkers

ETOBICOKE, Ontario — Trainer John Ross is having one of his best years from a monetary perspective, and Lexie Lou will try to keep the ball rolling in Sunday’s $125,000 South Ocean Stakes at Woodbine.

The South Ocean, a 1 1/16-mile test for Ontario-sired juvenile fillies, is usually among the weakest stakes of the Woodbine meet, but Sunday’s edition is exceptional, and it could contain a future Sovereign Award finalist.

Lexie Lou reached full bloom after she began wearing blinkers. She wrapped up her summer campaign with a victory by disqualification in the $200,000 Muskoka Stakes.

A daughter of Sligo Bay, Lexie Lou led most of the way in her initial route venture Nov. 2 in the $250,000 Princess Elizabeth Stakes, before being overtaken in the final furlong by another daughter of Sligo Bay, Paladin Bay. Ross said he had been looking forward to trying her around two turns.

“Her pedigree suggested that she’d like it, and the way she was running, coming from out of it,” Ross said. “Coming off six-furlong races, she was a little too sharp. We didn’t want to be on the lead, but nobody wanted it, and we ended up there. She got beat a length for everything, so it was a pretty good effort. I think she’ll learn to relax a bit better next time. I was debating taking the blinkers off, but I hate to make a change when things are going good. I was very happy with the way she dug in when [Paladin Bay] got beside her, and with the way she galloped out.”

Ross owns Lexie Lou and Go Greeley, a colt he purchased last winter after the death of his longtime owner Bud Reynolds. Go Greeley, who won three stakes during the summer, is a contender for Canadian champion 2-year-old honors.

“When Bud Reynolds passed away, I thought I could be in trouble if some of the horses I own didn’t come to the forefront, but we’ve been able to win these races and hang in there,” Ross said. “It’s turned out pretty good. I can continue in the business.”

Ross said he will winter Lexie Lou, Go Greeley, and another 2-year-old, Sacred Space, at Payson Park in Florida.

Sacred Space found the mark second time out in a five-furlong maiden special Nov. 8.

“He’s a nice son of Bold Executive,” Ross said. “I only ran him twice, and then sent him to Florida. He’s been growing and maturing.”

Battle for Gold in a groove

Trainer Catherine Day Phillips has been among the hottest trainers on the grounds of late. Her new stable star is the large 3-year-old gelding Battle for Gold, who is unbeaten since returning from a summer layoff.

Battle for Gold won a pair of seven-furlong sprints for Ontario-sired runners, both by 6 1/4 lengths. The first one came against maidens Oct. 27, and then he got an 85 Beyer Speed Figure in a runaway allowance score last Sunday.

Day Phillips said Battle for Gold could resurface in a nonwinners-of-three Ontario-sired allowance at the end of the meet.

“We might run him there, or we may just give him a break,” Day Phillips said. “He’s come out of his race well. We were always really high on him. We had to give him a break in the middle of the summer because of a few little things. It’s nice to have a nice horse like him again. It makes it easier to get up in the morning.”

Winner ineligible for allowance

Following a stewards’ hearing Friday, I’m a Kittyhawk was disqualified from purse money from her win in a first-level allowance Nov. 9 due to ineligibility. The race conditions read: nonwinners of a race other than maiden, claiming, or restricted allowance, or which have never won two. I’m a Kittyhawk was ruled to be ineligible because of her victory in the May 25 Lady Angela, an Ontario-sired stakes, something that was not caught until after the race was run.

◗ A racing rarity occurred last Wednesday night, when jockey Tommy Wong won as both an apprentice and a journeyman on the same card. When Wong won his 45th race in the fourth aboard Camp Murphey, he lost his apprentice allowance, and the weights on his remaining mounts were all increased by five pounds. In the ninth, he orchestrated a fine ride on Midnight Black, who graduated for $8,000 under 121 pounds, which was the most weight he ever carried.