A pair of CA$150,000 black-type events for juveniles, the Clarendon Stakes and Shady Well Stakes, share the spotlight on an 11-race card Dec. 3 at Woodbine.
Each set for six furlongs over the Tapeta, the Shady Well (2-year-old fillies) and Clarendon (2-year-olds), both for Ontario-bred or Ontario-sired newcomers, have drawn six and five starters, respectively.
Owned by Borders Racing Stable and trained by Katerina Vassilieva, Witch Hazel will chase her first stakes score.
The daughter of Astern arrives at the Shady Well off a fifth-place finish, albeit 1 1/2 lengths behind the winner, in the Woodbine Cares Stakes Oct. 8.
Sent off at 9-1 in the five-furlong inner turf event, Witch Hazel was carried out in the stretch but still battled gamely to the wire.
"We were kind of unlucky in the Woodbine Cares race," Vassilieva said. "I felt it was going to be a little bit too short for her. We were caught wide around the turn, but with all of that against her, she only got beat by a length and a little bit. She definitely is a trier."
The trainer is expecting a strong effort from her first-year filly who brings a record of 1-1-1 from five starts into Saturday's co-feature on Woodbine's synthetic Tapeta surface.
"Unfortunately, we had to scratch out of the Glorious Song (on Nov. 5). It was going to be a better distance (seven furlongs) for her, but she came down with a virus, so we had to bypass that race. She's been training very well since and I'm hoping this will be our turn to shine."
Witch Hazel debuted on June 25 in a five-furlong Tapeta test and finished second to Collecting Flatter. One race later, on July 23, she tested the turf and was fourth to Cairo Consort, who would finish second in the Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (G1T) and third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T).
After a third at six panels over the Tapeta Aug. 13, the bay broke her maiden courtesy of a gutsy neck score at 6 1/2 furlongs on the same surface Sept. 11.
Bred by Bernard and Karen McCormack, Witch Hazel has had a steady work tab leading up to the Shady Well, including a four-furlong breeze in :48.20 over the Tapeta Nov. 19.
Fashionably Fab, Me and My Shadow, and Anam Cara are the other favorites in the Shady Well.
Poulin in O T will get his second shot at netting the natural hat trick.
The son of Reload , trained, co-owned, and co-bred by Steve Owens, heads into the Clarendon off two consecutive triumphs, taking the Bull Page Stakes and Frost King Stakes to bring his record to 4-0-0 from five career starts.
Poulin in O T won his career bow impressively, a 5 1/4-length romp at 4 1/2 furlongs over the Toronto oval Tapeta June 24. One race later, the gelding was back in the winner's circle after a 3 1/4-length triumph in the 5 1/2-furlong Victoria Stakes July 17. After a seventh in the Soaring Free, the chestnut could make it three straight stakes victories with a win in the Clarendon.
Armstrong and Paramount Prince head the opposition in a sprint in which Poulin in O T is likely to be an odds-on favorite.
The Shady Well is the ninth race Saturday at 5:40 p.m. ET, followed by the Clarendon as race 10 with a 6:10 p.m. post time.
Woodbine, Saturday, December 3, 2022, Race 9Entries: Shady Well S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Witch Hazel (ON) Justin Stein 120 Katerina Vassilieva 8/1 2 2Speed Trap (ON) Kazushi Kimura 120 Josie Carroll 3/1 3 3Rifling (ON) Luis Contreras 120 Stuart C. Simon 12/1 4 4Fashionably Fab (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 120 Kevin Attard 5/2 5 5Anam Cara (ON) David Moran 122 Sarah Ritchie 9/2 6 6Me and My Shadow (ON) Emma-Jayne Wilson 120 Mark E. Casse 2/1
Woodbine, Saturday, December 3, 2022, Race 10Entries: Clarendon S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Stubborn Streak (ON) Rafael Manuel Hernandez 119 Mike A. Dunslow 12/1 2 2Armstrong (ON) Kazushi Kimura 120 Mark E. Casse 5/2 3 3Rolling Hills (ON) MarkLee Z. Buchanan 119 Roy George Agostino 15/1 4 4Poulin in O T (ON) Patrick Husbands 124 Steven Owens 6/5 5 5Paramount Prince (ON) Slade Jones 120 Jamie Attard 9/5
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
