Spring in the Air, a grade I winner at 2 and a consistent player in graded stakes events in her two subsequent seasons of racing, will bid for millionaire status against nine rivals in Churchill Downs' Chilukki Stakes.
Melnyk Racing Stable's Canadian champion filly Leigh Court led at every point of call as the 13-10 favorite and coasted to a comfortable win the $142,172 Seaway Stakes (Can-III) Aug. 24 at Woodbine.
A well-balanced field of 10 fillies and mares, including 2013 winner Youcan'tcatchme, are set to contest the $150,000 Seaway Stakes (Can-III) Aug. 24 at Woodbine.
A competitve field of nine fillies will face off in the two-turn Ontario Matron over Woodbine's Polytrack July 26, including a pack of stakes winners at Arlington and over the home track outside Toronto.
The $200,000 Modesty Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Arlington Park July 12 is pretty much a roll of the dice, as 14 fillies and mares look to earn their way into the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes (gr. IT) Aug. 16.
Paladin Bay, coming off a win over graded company in the Selene Stakes (Can-III), is among the favorites for the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser, to be contested over the Woodbine Polytrack June 15.
Grade I winner Spring in the Air returned her winning ways with an off-the-pace charge in the $162,891 Hendrie Stakes (Can-III) May 24 at Woodbine, handing trainer Mark Casse his third consecutive win in the Polytrack event.
Fresh off her first stakes tally in the Whimsical (Can-III) at Woodbine in April, former claimer Purely Hot returns to the Polytrack in the $150,000 Hendrie Stakes (Can-III) May 24.
The husband and wife team of Harold and Jessie Ladouceur got a first graded stakes win when Paladin Bay surged along the inside to nip odds-on My Conquestadory in the $189,459 Selene Stakes (Can-III) May 18 at Woodbine.
My Conquestadory, a grade I winner on Polytrack last year, makes her 2014 debut in the $150,000 Selene Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine. She will face just three other sophomore fillies in the 1 1/16-mile test.
Wild Catomine outfought Hot and Spicy and the favored Lexie Lou in a spirited three-way stretch run to capture the $137,992 Fury Stakes May 10 at Woodbine.
Purely Hot, a former claimer who once dared to look champion Groupie Doll in the eye, earned her first graded stakes victory and continued success for her new connections April 26 at Woodbine.
The last time John Oxley's Spring in the Air dropped back to a sprint after a series of two-turn races, she won the seven-furlong Fury Stakes at Woodbine. She'll make her 2014 debut in the six-furlong Whimsical April 26.
A drop from grade I competition paid off for Emotional Kitten, who came roaring down the stretch to sweep past outsider Effie Trinket and win the $205,100 Mrs. Revere Stakes for 3-year-old fillies the night of Nov. 16.
Effie Trinket, a three-time stakes winner at Belmont Park, ventures from New York for the first time to face graded company in the $175,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. IIT) on the grass Nov. 16 at Churchill Downs.
Front-running Smartyfly put away favored Spring in the Air past mid-stretch to win the $240,652 Wonder Where Stakes on the Woodbine turf Aug. 4 in the final leg of the Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies.
Nipissing and Spring in the Air, two fillies that failed to make much impact facing males in the Queen's Plate one month ago, are back with their own sex in the $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes Aug. 4 at Woodbine.
Looking for consecutive wins in the $500,000 Prince of Wales Stakes, trainer Mark Casse will have four shots at the July 30 renewal at Fort Erie racetrack in Ontario, Canada.
Yvonne Schwabe's Surtsey, sent to post as the longest shot on the board at 41-1, scored an upset win in the $144,256 Ontario Damsel Stakes July 14 at Woodbine.
Midnight Aria gave trainer Nick Gonzalez his second win in the $947,012 Queen's Plate since 2010 with a gate-to-wire upset victory by a half-length July 7 over the Polytrack at rain-soaked Woodbine.
Up With the Birds, dominating winner of the Marine Stakes, was made the 2-1 favorite in the $1 million Queen's Plate, heading a field of 12 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds July 7 at Woodbine.
Favored Original Script, a game third in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser last time out, led every step of the way at Woodbine June 30 to capture the $237,700 Bison City Stakes by one length.
Chiefswood Stable's filly Nipissing, an impressive winner of the Woodbine Oaks presented by Budweiser, put in a final breeze June 30 in advance of the upcoming Queen's Plate, covering a half-mile in :48 flat.
Third in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser after setting the pace, Original Script returns in the $250,000 Bison City Stakes, the second jewel of Canada's filly Triple Crown June 30 at Woodbine.
Inglorious, the 2011 recipient of Canada's Sovereign Award for champion 3-year-old filly has been retired. She is one of only five fillies to capture both the Woodbine Oaks and the Queen's Plate.
| Horse | Trainer | Breeder / Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Dance Again | Malcolm Pierce |
|
| Nipissing | Rachel Halden |
|
| Original Script | Paul Attard |
|
| Pink Trillium | Sean Smullen |
|
| Rutherford Rd | Michael J. Doyle |
|
| Smartyfly | Malcolm Pierce |
|
| Spring in the Air | Mark E. Casse |
|
| Tiz Ro | Brian A. Lynch |
|
| Race | Track |
|---|---|
| Woodbine Budweiser Oaks | WO |
| Monmouth S. (gr. II) | MTH |
| GRAN PREMIO DI MILANO (gr. I) | MIL |
| Plate Trial S. | WO |
| Alywow S. | WO |
| Race | Track | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Dixie Poker Ace S. | FG | |
| Black Gold S. | FG | |
| Herecomesthebride S. (gr. IIIT) | GP | |
| Fasig-Tipton Swale S. (gr. II) | GP | |
| Palm Beach S. (gr. IIIT) | GP |
