Caren, with Jesse Campbell aboard, outbattled Crumlin Spirit in the closing yards to win the co-featured $150,000 Shady Well Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine, by a diminishing head.
The Shady Well, for Ontario-bred two-year-old fillies going five and one-half furlongs on Polytrack, drew seven hopefuls, with Get Rhythm going postward the 6-5 choice off an impressive maiden score last month.
But the Mike DePaulo-trained Caren, a daughter of Society’s Chairman-Jo Zak, had also tallied with style in her debut and thus kept her record unblemished with the hard-fought victory, accomplished in 1:04.33.
Get Rhythm went immediately to the front, clicking off fractions of :22.26 and :45.32, while being shadowed by Caren on her outside.
When the field turned for home, Get Rhythm still held a narrow lead, but Caren had edged up to challenge, while Crumlin Spirit was starting to roll on the rail. Caren surged to the front before the sixteenth pole but was all out to hold off the late charge of Crumlin Spirit.
Conquest City Girl, the 2-1 second choice, had also circled up to the leaders as they turned into the stretch, but wound up third, two and one-quarter lengths back, with Shake Down Baby fourth. Get Rhythm faded to fifth.
“This filly has been very precocious, very smart from Day One,” said Campbell, who was also aboard for the maiden win. “These baby races go a long way. She’s not making mistakes and she’s very smart. I’m able to ride her like an old horse.”
Caren was also giving her owner, Robert Marzilli, his first stakes win. Bought for $45,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale last year, the filly ‘won herself out’ with the $90,000 pot, having now banked $117,000.
Since its inception in 1956, Shady Well winners include Flaming Page (1961), All We Have (1966), Square Angel (1972), Trudie Tudor (1973), L’Alezane (1977), Blondeinamotel (1988), Ginger Gold (2001) and Judy the Beauty (2011).
As the 9-2 third choice, Caren returned $11.10, $5.70 and $4, combining with 29-1 shot Crumlin Spirit ($16.90, $7.80) for a $210 (6-1) exactor. A 6-1-4 (Conquest City Girl, $3.40) triactor was worth $774.60 while a $1 Superfecta [6-1-4-2 (Shake Down Baby)] paid a whopping $1,887.20.
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
