Avoiding trouble near the eighth pole when favored Ready to Act bore in sharply and hit the rail, Harlequin Ranches' Llanarmon surged between rivals to post a victory in the $200,000 Natalma Stakes (Can-IIT) at Woodbine.
Two Bit Racing Stable's A Bit O'Gold, a winner of three stakes in seven starts with earnings of nearly $600,000 in 2005, was named the Sovereign Award winner as Canadian Horse of the Year Dec. 16.
Lemon Maid made easy work of five rivals in Saturday's $165,550 Duchess Stakes (Can-III) as the 2-5 favorite at Woodbine.
Wild Desert gave jockey Patrick Valenzuela and stand-in trainer Bobby Frankel their first victory in the $1 million Queen's Plate, the first leg of the Triple Crown for 3-year-old Canadian-breds at Woodbine Sunday.
Dance With Ravens and Gold Strike head a field of 10 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds in Sunday's $1 million Queen's Plate at Woodbine.
Harlequin Ranches' homebred Gold Strike overpowered the field in the $502,000 Labatt Woodbine Oaks Sunday to become the first Manitoba-bred to win Canada's premier event for sophomore fillies since the Oaks began in 1956.
Harlequin Ranches' Gold Strike has been established as the 9-5 morning line favorite over nine Canadian-bred 3-year-old filly rivals for Sunday's $500,000 Labatt Woodbine Oaks.
Jockey Javier Castellano will ride Ready and Alluring in Sunday's $500,000 Labatt Woodbine Oaks, the premier event for Canadian-bred 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine. Ready and Alluring could face as many as 10 challengers in the 1 1/8-mile race.
Gold Strike, bred and owned by Harlequin Ranches, drew off in the stretch to take Sunday's $280,400 Selene Stakes (Can-III) for 3-year-old fillies at Woodbine in impressive fashion.
