ONT Damsel Stakes- $150.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies Three Years Old Foaled In ON
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Turf
November 21, 2020

As part of a good day of racing at WO, a field of six took to the track for the ONT Damsel Stakes, and its $150.000 purse. Smokey Stover seemed to have two of the top horses in the race, and while one of them did disappoint as the post time favorite, it was the other that stepped up and picked up the win. That filly is Decima, who ran third here in the Wonder Where last month. It is the first win in the race for Smokey Stover, and the second for jockey J Stein. You have to go back to 2009 and the late Twice The Joy for the last time Stein rode a winner. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 1:40.26. This was the first time that the race was run at a mile and a sixteenth, so we can’t compare that time to anything else. Let’s take a look!

(¼ Mile- :24.68)- Breaking the quickest out of the gate would be both Winnie, from Chili King Stables and Big Fajita, from Rheingold Stables. They went back and forth as to who would lead after a quarter mile, and they would eventually be side by side at this point. However, it was certainly not a fast opening quarter. Fancifully, our eventual winner from Smokey Stover rsan third, in a stalking position on the rail. After two lengths, the remaining three horses ran three wide, with Czarina (Two Hearts One Love) on the rail, Kiwi Sunshine (Smokey Stover) in the middle, and Skyhigh Haggis (The Sidley Stud) on the outside.

(½ Mile- :48.68)- Concluding the backstretch portion, J Stein realizes the pace is slow, and sees the opening on the rail for Fancifully, and moves the filly forward to take the position to now run even with both Winnie and Big Fajita. The two initial pace setters still run well, though Big Fajita is starting to emerge as the better of them as they reach the top of the turn. Further back, Skyhigh Haggis decided to no longer run three wide, and moved ahead of both Kiwi Sunshine and Czarina by two lengths. The trailers were now conceding five lengths.

(Top of Stretch, 2F To Go)- Fancifully was much the best in the turn, using her inside position to draw even and then pull away from Big Fajita in an easier manner than was expected. By the top of stretch, she had moved out to a lead of a length and a half, and you had to feel as though she had given the field the slip at this point. Big Fajita held her second position over Winnie, who was starting to show some signs of fatigue. Meanwhile, Skyhigh Haggis was three and a half lengths out, but at this point, her run was going to be for second, as was the case with Kiwi Sunshine. At the back, maybe Czarina was still jet lagged or something. What happened to her, she looked like she’d be a strong contender in here?

(Finish- 1:40.26)- There were no surprises in the stretch. Fancifully won the race in the turn, and all that was left was to watch her run to the wire and pick up the victory. She wins decisively over Big Fajita. For third, Skyhigh Haggis nipped Winnie for third, and it’s one more length to Kiwi Sunshine. Four more to Czarina, who made us look bad by picking her.

About The Winner- Fancifully, trained by Smokey Stover, and ridden to victory by J Stein, is a three year old filly by Decima, and is out of Fanciful. She was bred in Ontario by Smokey Stover, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in six starts, and it is her first stake win. Her career earnings are now $198.210.

Track: Firm
Time: :24³  :48³  1:11²  1:40¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 1 – 2 Paid 14.00
$1 Trifecta: 1 – 2 – 5 Paid 67.10

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded