Heading into the Lady Angela Stakes, it seemed as though Ena Barb and Pinot Gris were the class of the field, and that the race would come down to the two of them, with everyone else battling for third.   That is indeed how this race transpired today, and with Head In The Noose being a late scratch, the gap between second and third may have even been greater then expected with just a four horse field.   Ena Barb and Pinot Gris settled the race between the two of them, and prevailing at the end was Canadian Racing’s Barbarino foal.   It is the first time that the trainer was won this ON-bred stake, so perhaps that is the most surprising to thing to come out of this race.  We congratulate the trainer on their victory!    L Contreras picks up his second career win in the stake, having ridden 2012 winner Taniwha Mark to victory.   Rain did come and downgraded the track to good, and the time of the win over the surface was an almost numerically perfect 1:23.46.  Despite such a gap on the track between second and third, it’s interesting that the payouts do not see much separation between the positions.  Let’s fill these statebred stakes up more!   Here’s a deeper look.

1st- 2- Ena Barb (1/2)-  Our eventual race winner from Canadian Racing was not concerned about her primary rival jumping out to the early lead.  Instead, L Contreras was fine with keeping her in a midpack position early on, and about three to fourth lengths from that leader.  Ena Barb would be particularly impressive in the turn, as she distanced herself from Cruise Control and began to make a move on the lead.  From the top of the turn, to the top of the stretch, she cut about two lengths off the lead, and was poised to strike at this point. With up until a furlong to go, it seemed as though Pinot Gris may hang on, so it was at this time where Ena Barb would be at her best.  She quickly reeled in the leader and made the pass, and there was nothing that Pinot Gris could do about it.   She won in an all out drive, in the winning time of 1:23.46! Ena Barb is a three year old filly with a highly successful set of parents.  Her sire was the great Barbarino, and she is also out of Numero Ena, who may not have been Barbarino, but she was pretty good herself.  As you guessed based on the conditions, she is a three old filly bred in Ontario, and that was as a yearling.  Canadian Racing is the only owner she has ever known.  Congrats again!

2nd- 3- Pinot Gris (7/2)-  The filly from Night Rider Stables got off to a good start, and pulls out to a three length lead as they hit the 1/4 in :23.48. This advantage stabilizes until the backstretch run concludes, and as they hit the half, her running time shows that continued steady pace, going in :46.93.  About midway into the turn, Ena Barb begins to advance and show her intention to make this a race while you could pretty much disregard the other two.  Pinot Gris tries to fend off her challenger, and with a furlong to go it seemed as though she might be able to do so.  Unfortunately for the trainer, when Ena Barb did get beside her, Pinot Gris seemed to pack it in instead of battling her all the way to the wire.

3rd- 4- Tennessee Bluebelle (3/1)-  Can’t really understand why this one slipped in there as the second choice, and wouldn’t be surprised if that was done by oddsmakers to divert attention from the other two.  The Hawaiian Shirt Guy entry did not justify those odds here today, going promptly to the back, and simply passed Cruise Control in the turn when the race was pretty much over though that pass gets him just $5.000 less in earnings then Night Rider gets.

4th- 1- Cruise Control (13/1)-  There will likely be better days for this Crocker Ggs filly.   Her race would start better then it would finish, running with Ena Barb over the course of the backstretch before eventually giving way.  The race went from bad to worse when Tennessee Bluebelle went by at the top of the stretch.

##		Horse Name	Owner Name	Jockey	Odds		Fin	Time	SRF
2		Ena Barb	Canadian Racing	Contreras L	0.50		11/2	1:23.46
3		Pinot Gris	Night Rider Stables	Boulanger G	3.70		25	1:23.60
4		Tennessee Bluebelle	Hawaiian Shirt Guy	Olguin G L	3.15		34	1:24.76
1		Cruise Control	Crocker Ggs	Wilson E J	13.65		4	1:25.74

Track: Good
Time: :23²  :46⁴  1:10⁴  1:23²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

2 – Ena Barb	3.00	2.10
3 – Pinot Gris		2.50

$1 Exacta: 2 – 3 Paid 6.90

Scratched: Head In The Noose(L)

— NS