ONT Damsel Stakes- $150.000 Purse
WO- For Fillies Three Years Old Foaled in Ontario
One Mile on the Turf
July 16, 2016
A field of five is set to hit the track on Saturday in the 11th running of the ONT Damsel Stakes. This is currently a one mile turf event for ON-bred fillies, but it hasn’t always been that way. At first, this race welcomed competitors from anywhere, not only Ontario, and became a state-bred in 2008. Also, up until 2010, this race was a 6 ½ furlong turf sprint, and was extended to its current distance in that year. Last year, Miss Bold Phooey won the race for Australia Wide, giving him two winners in the race (and tying Dynark atop the stake leaderboard). That win is still the highlight of Miss Bold Phooey’s career, though she is still battling it out at WO every now and again. None of this year’s five can be considered a standout, but all of them seem to have quite a bit of potential. A couple of these are quite early in their racing careers, so we may be seeing them again in bigger and better. This would certainly be a big step for whoever wins the race, and any of these can bring it home. Let’s meet them now!
#1- What A Bargain (Double J Stables, ridden by E J Wilson)- The trainer has always thought highly of her, once entering her in the Grade 2 Natalama Stakes here at WO before she even broke her maiden. Eventually, in her fifth start, she did finally accomplish that, and it stands as her only win so far. She’s run well in most of her starts, and did put forth a good showing against three others at this distance last month, where she was narrowly beaten by a two-time LA-bred stake winner in Arc Of Charley. What A Bargain will have to step it up today, but the potential to do so seems to be there.
#2- Drive Home (Mb Stables, ridden by G Boulanger)- Looking at her past performances, it almost seems as though she’d have more then $122.040 in career earnings. Her two year old season was strong, and it would culminate in her making the BC Turf last year, thanks mainly to her runner up performance in the Grade 3 Jessamine. She didn’t beat anyone in the BC Turf, but since then she’s beat everyone. Drive Home is 3-for-3 this year with a pair of allowance wins at LS, and an optional claimer win at GG. Now, off of those races, Mb Stables looks to get her running against the best again. With other trainers, you may wonder why she hasn’t run in stakes this year, but considering the depth of the Mb barn, it’s not a cause for concern with her. Expect her to run big, though I’m looking elsewhere for the winner.
#3- You Must Believe (Pan Farms, ridden by P Husbands)– On June 23rd, You Must Believe ran in a $20.000 claimer, and there were four stables that put in a claim. Pan Farms was not the winner of the shake, but clearly he was not going to be satisfied with that. Later that same today, the one who did win the shake, Lanfranco Stable, sold him in private sales to Pan Farms for $65.000. That’s quite a commitment, but clearly Pan believes in You Must Believe (ok, that pun was too easy). She’s won two of three career starts, but this will be her third start in six weeks. You Must Believe has never met a field of this caliber before, but with this being a smaller field, that shouldn’t be a problem.
#4- Exclusive Ballerina (Drabfantasy, ridden by J S McAleney)- Earlier this year, the Exclusive Notice filly was red-hot, winning three out of four races. One of them was a biggie, coming at SUN in March at the $200.000 SUN Oaks, against some pretty strong opposition. Thanks to that win, she made it to CD for the KYO. After setting the pace in that race, she eventually found her way to the back, and the end result was Drabfantasy trying to see if she would be better on the grass in her next start, which is also her most recent one. Although she was only third, she was stronger in her ability to get the distance, and that should bode well for her today. Her work times are suggesting to me that she is going to like the turf, and I feel good about her picking up the win here.
#5- Must Be Nice (Australia Wide, ridden by L Contreras)- The trainer looks to win the race for the second year in a row, and if he does it will be with a lightly raced filly that has won two of her three starts. After the usual debut race not going well, she broke her maiden against two rivals at GP, then beat three horses impressively here at the end of April. I would be a little more concerned about the lack of opposition she has faced, but in looking at that last race, I believe she would have topped a full field of 10 with her effort. I’m impressed with her work times, as well, and with the backing of one of the best trainers in the game, you just know she’ll be a major threat.
Prediction: 4-2-5-3
— NS
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded
