The $150,000 Mazarine Stakes (Can-III) at Woodbine Oct. 5 will reunite Llanarmon, Spanish Flower, and Appreciating, the top three finishers in the Ontario track's Natalma Stakes (Can-IIT).
Harlequin Ranches' Llanarmon and John Oxley's homebred Appreciating will race for the first time over a synthetic surface in the 1 1/16-mile contest for 2-year-old fillies. The race has attracted a field of eight fillies, none of whom has ever been tested at the distance.
Featured as race 8 on the card, the Mazarine has a scheduled post time of 4:24 p.m. EDT.
The Roger Attfield-trained Llanarmon comes in off her victory in the one-mile Natalma on turf, her second start after placing third in a maiden special weight over the Woodbine lawn Aug. 23. The highweight in the field, spotting her rivals seven pounds, the Sky Mesa filly will carry 121 and break from the outside with regular rider Emma-Jayne Wilson aboard.
Another daughter of Sky Mesa, Appreciating broke her maiden by 1 1/2 lengths on the grass at Woodbine Aug. 23, in the same debut as Llanarmon. In her only other start, the fillies swapped places in the Natalma. Jockey Gary Boulanger will ride Appreciating, who goes out for Woodbine's current leading trainer, Mark Casse.
Spanish Flower will make her third start in the Mazarine after runner-up finishes in the Natalma last time out and in an Aug. 17 maiden special weight at Woodbine where was bested by a head by Mazarine rival Unspurned. Mark Frostad sends out the bay Artie Schiller filly who will break from post 3 with Steven Bahen in the irons.
Casse sends out another Oxley-owned entry in the Mazarine. Madly Truly, a daughter of Malibu Moon , will make her fifth start in the race. Last time out she was fourth in the Natalma and two starts back placed third in Woodbine's listed Ontario Debutante Stakes Aug. 10.
$150,000 Mazarine Stakes (Can-III, Race 8, approximate post time 4:24 p.m.) 2YO Fillies, 1 1/16 miles (all weather)
PP, Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Madly Truly (KY), P Husbands, 114, M E Casse
2. Unspurned (ON), J Stein, 114, R L Attfield
3. Spanish Flower (KY), S R Bahen, 114, M R Frostad
4. Morant Bay (OH), S Ryan, 114, C Brooks
5. Zubi Zubi Zu (KY), O Moreno, 114, M R Frostad
6. Appreciating (KY), G Boulanger, 114, M E Casse
7. Tamazula (FL), J M Campbell, 114, A De la cerda
8. Llanarmon (ON), E Wilson, 121, R L Attfield
