Multiple stakes winners Ready to Act and Daring Kathy, top the 10-horse field of 3-year-old fillies entered on the grass in the $150,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Can-IIIT) at Woodbine Aug. 23.
The one-turn mile turf test is race 8 on the Saturday card, with an approximate post time of 4:52 p.m. EDT.
The Ontario Colleen marks the second start for Ready to Act in the colors of WinStar Farm and first under the tutelage of trainer Mark Casse. Previously trained by Chad Brown, the filly scored her first stakes win when she took the Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park in her 2014 debut.
Rested for three months, the daughter of More Than Ready returned in the Beaumont Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland. In that seven-furlong test over the Polytrack, her only start not on grass in a seven-race career, Ready to Act was bumped at the start but rallied from seventh to win by a half-length despite lugging in slightly late.
A Florida homebred daughter of Wildcat Heir who races for John Eaton and Steve Laymon, Daring Kathy has been tabbed the 120-pound high weight as she seeks her fifth victory from seven starts. After breaking her maiden on the main track at Gulfstream in her career debut, the bay filly pressed a sizzling early pace before fading to seventh in the Pica Slew Stakes, her lone off-the-board finish.
Since making her grass debut, Daring Kathy has three wins and a third in four efforts, with wins in the Starfish Bay and Honey Ryder Stakes at Gulfstream. Most recently, the filly set a moderate pace throughout while racing on the inside before giving way to finish third to Daring Dancer in the Lake George Stakes (gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course.
Shipping to Canada from Keeneland is Sushi Empire, winner of this year's Blue Norther Stakes at Santa Anita Park who was the second-highest price horse offered at the recent Del Mar paddock sale. The 3-year-old daughter of Empire Maker was purchased for $275,000 by trainer Tevis McCauley of Lexington on behalf of his father, Ron, and his brother, Nathan.
"Sushi Empire is the one filly that we had our eye on at the sale. We love the pedigree and the fact that she's by Empire Maker," McCauley said following the purchase. "She'll be very well accepted in Kentucky. We'll probably run her the rest of this year and put her in foal next year."
Previously campaigned by Wounded Warrior Stable, Sushi Empire's lone victory in 11 starts came in the Blue Norther. She has earnings of $96,270.
Woodbine, Saturday, August 23, 2014, Race 8Entries: Ontario Colleen S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Ready to Act (KY) Patrick Husbands 118 Mark E. Casse - 2 2Hot and Spicy (ON) Alan Garcia 114 H. James Bond - 3 3Holy Empress (KY) Emma-Jayne Wilson 114 Reade Baker - 4 4Sushi Empire (KY) Pablo Morales 114 Tevis Q. McCauley - 5 5Speed Seeker (FL) Luis Contreras 114 Joan Scott - 6 6Unspurned (ON) David Moran 118 Roger L. Attfield - 7 7Executive Allure (ON) Eurico Rosa Da Silva 116 Darwin D. Banach - 8 8Cactus Kris (KY) Huber Villa-Gomez 114 Ryan D. Walsh - 9 9Daring Kathy (FL) Justin Stein 120 David Fawkes - 10 10Madly Truly (KY) Gary Boulanger 118 Mark E. Casse -
