This year’s edition of the Canadian Triple Tiara comes to a conclusion Oct. 25 when 10 3-year-old Canadian-bred fillies take to the turf in the CA$250,000 Wonder Where Stakes at Woodbine.
Contested at about 1 1/4 miles, the Wonder Where drew stars Curlin's Voyage, the winner of the Aug. 15 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser, the first jewel in the series, and Afleet Katherine, the runner-up in both the Oaks and the second jewel, the Sept. 12 Bison City Stakes.
A bay daughter of Afleet Alex, Afleet Katherine, trained by Kevin Attard, arrives at the Wonder Where off that second in the Bison City, a 1 1/16-mile test on the Woodbine synthetic track.
Sent off as the 4-5 choice, Afleet Katherine hopped leaving the gate before jockey Justin Stein settled her midpack in the eight-horse race. Hustled from the rail and sent two wide into the final turn, she rallied and crossed the wire 4 3/4 lengths behind winner Mizzen Beau.
Bred and owned by Terra Racing Stable, the Ontario-bred will now make a return to the grass, the surface in which she contested her first two races. Both efforts came on the E. P. Taylor turf course and resulted in victories.
Dismissed at 29-1 in her career debut July 5, Afleet Katherine rallied impressively to win by a neck at seven furlongs on firm going. She followed it up 20 days later with another late burst to win by a head at the same distance and on the same ground.
“She got up in the nick of time both times,” said Attard, who is seeking his first Wonder Where crown. “She’s shown she’s a decent filly, and we’ve been looking forward to this race for a while now."
The conditioner is also represented by Merveilleux, a daughter of Paynter owned by Al and Bill Ulwelling. Merveilleux has a record of 2-3-1 from nine starts. She was third in the Woodbine Oaks and sixth in the Queen’s Plate and sheds blinkers Sunday.
Afleet Katherine will once again face Curlin’s Voyage, the chestnut daughter of Curlin who has a 5-2-1 record from 10 starts.
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A four-time stakes winner, the Josie Carroll trainee finished fifth to winner Mighty Heart (also trained by Carroll) in the Sept. 12 Queen’s Plate. Owned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Windsor Boys Racing, she will be testing the turf for the first time.
Ballrooms of Mars, Beyond Mybudget, Forty Zip, Gun Society, Justleaveitalone, Sansa's Vow, and She's a Dream round out the field.
Woodbine, Sunday, October 25, 2020, Race 8Entries: Wonder Where S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1She's a Dream (ON) Luis Contreras 121 Josie Carroll 15/1 2 2Justleaveitalone (ON) David Moran 121 Nicholas Gonzalez 20/1 3 3Gun Society (ON) Kazushi Kimura 121 Roger L. Attfield 12/1 4 4Beyond Mybudget (ON) Jerome Lermyte 121 Mark E. Casse 20/1 5 5Merveilleux (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 121 Kevin Attard 5/1 6 6Curlin's Voyage (ON) Patrick Husbands 121 Josie Carroll 9/5 7 7Afleet Katherine (ON) Justin Stein 121 Kevin Attard 5/2 8 8Ballrooms of Mars (ON) Steven Ronald Bahen 121 Catherine Day Phillips 20/1 9 9Sansa's Vow (ON) Daisuke Fukumoto 121 Josie Carroll 12/1 10 10Forty Zip (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 121 Claude R. McGaughey III 8/1
