Lady Speightspeare Tackles Trillium Stakes

The CA$150,000 Bold Venture Stakes (G3) and the CA$150,000 Trillium Stakes (G3) co-headline an 11-race card Aug. 13 at Woodbine. The 1 1/16-mile main track Trillium, for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up, has drawn 13 hopefuls, a group that includes multiple graded stakes winner Lady Speightspeare, Hendrie Stakes (G3) winner Hazelbrook, and Powder Break Stakes winner Kate's Kingdom. The Trillium is scheduled as the seventh race while the Bold Venture goes as race eight. Set at 6 1/2 furlongs over the Toronto Tapeta, the Bold Venture for 3-year-olds and up has attracted 14 starters, including Candy Overload. The 4-year-old son of Reload trained by Krista Cole-Simpson—who co-owns with Denny Andrews and Northern Dawn Stables—brings a mark of 3-4-1 from 12 starts into his latest test and arrives off an impressive win at seven furlongs, a victory that showcased his signature late turn of foot, yielding a 2 1/4-length score in a time of 1:22.14. Cole-Simpson is hopeful her consistent charge, 2-3-0 in his past six starts, will have some speed to chase Saturday. "The key is to have something for him to run at," she said. "The last time when he won, it was really exciting. Just how he closes, he was so wide in the turn, but he just flew past everyone with ease." ​ ​ Other starters include Josie Carroll trainees Avie's Flatter and Mason's Gamble, the Mark Casse trio of Helium, Souper Stonehenge, Tap It to Win, and multiple stakes winners Nobals and Outadore.