Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s champion ARTIE’S PRINCESS, foaled in Ontario, put in a strong rally from well off the pace to win the Grade 2 Presque Masters Stakes at Presque Isle racetrack in Erie, PA on Monday, September 19. The 5-year-old mare led a 1-2 Ontario-bred finish in the 6 1/2 furlong sprint as CAFE SOCIETY, bred by Anderson Farms, rallied into second at 24-to-1.
Artie’s Princess also set a track record for the distance on Tapeta, stopping the clock in 1:14.57, beating out the previous record of 1:14:68, coincidentally set by another Ontario-bred, Ami’s Mesa.
Artie’s Princess is usually a front runner but in the Masters, jockey Jose Ortiz had the 3-to-1 shot in eighth, some half a dozen lengths back of the leaders after the opening half-mile. Favoured Caravel led through opening splits of 21.97 seconds for the quarter and 44.54 for the half and got clear by a length at the top of the stretch run.
But Artie’s Princess, rallying four wide, struck the front in the final stages and drove to a 1 1/2-length win.
Cafe Society (Empire Maker – Full Tap by Tapit) rallied up the rail to be second, for her first graded stakes placing.
Artie’s Princess, a homebred for the racing operation of Ken Ramsey and his late wife, Sarah Ramsey, showed that she was a classy synthetic sprint runner by taking the Grade 2 Bessarabian Stakes and Ruling Angel Stakes in 2020 at Woodbine, victories that earned her the Sovereign Award as Canada’s Champion Female Sprinter.
This year, Artie’s Princess won the Ballade Stakes for new trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr at Woodbine after finishing fourth in the Grade 3 Whimsical and before a fifth in the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes. With three starts in Canada this year, Artie’s Princess is eligible for another Sovereign Award.
Artie’s Princess has won 7 of 12 races and has earned over $556,000.
*Also on the Presque Isle, Sept. 19 card, Ontario-bred HARLAN ESTATE (Kantharos), owned by Clay Scherer, ERJ Racing, Madaket Stables and Exline-Border Racing and trained by Kevin Attard, was second in the $200,000 Presque Isle Mile at 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta to Surly Furious.
~ with files from Daily Racing Form
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