Wando's Little Sis' Captures Ontario Lassie

(from Woodbine report)
Wando made a name for himself in 2003 becoming only the seventh Triple Crown winner in Canadian horse racing history. Sunday, it was little sister's turn in the spotlight when Six Sexy Sisters captured the $160,950 Ontario Lassie Stakes at Woodbine.

Six Sexy Sisters, a 2-year-old daughter of Langfuhr-Kathie's Colleen, is owned by Gus Schickedanz, trained by Mike Keogh and ridden by Patrick Husbands – the same threesome involved in her older brother's run through the Queen's Plate, Prince Of Wales and Breeders' Stakes.

The bay filly is obviously not as accomplished as Wando, but she's undefeated in two starts and looked impressive in the 1 1/16-mile race.

After a poor start out of the gate, Husbands was able to settle Six Sexy Sisters behind the early pace set by rival, Duet. Halfway through, Six Sexy Sisters took command and never looked back, winning by two lengths over Duet in 1:47.26.

"She's a classy filly and a very nice horse," said Husbands, who won four races on Sunday's card to pull within two of leading rider Todd Kabel in the Woodbine jockey standings. "She was standing a little bit crooked in the gate, but I wasn't worried, she broke relaxed. (At the top the stretch), I knew I had enough horse to win."

Keogh, in contention for a Sovereign Award Outstanding Trainer nomination for his brilliant work with Wando in 2003, has always had high hopes for the Ontario-bred. "She's a nice filly. I haven't been able to train her that hard so I think there's a lot left in her. We do have high hopes for her."

Keogh will take his stable of horses, including Six Sexy Sisters and Wando, to Florida for the winter. He expects Six Sexy Sisters to make her next start in Florida in February.

Six Sexy Sisters, named for a family of six sisters, of which five were in attendance at Woodbine on Sunday, collected $101,398 for the Ontario Lassie win. Her career earnings mark now stands at $140,218.

She paid $2.90 to win and combined with Duet for a $4.00 exacta. There was no show wagering in the race, which was reduced to four starters by the scratch of Ashburn Rd and Splitthedifference.

(Chart, Equibase)