Endless Light, with Emma-Jayne Wilson aboard, outbattled favoured Hillaby and Patrick Husbands the length of the stretch to win the $100,000 Sweet Briar Too Stakes, one of two features on the Canada Day holiday at Woodbine.
At the finish of the seven furlong tilt for fillies and mares, Endless Light, making her Polytrack debut for trainer Mark Frostad, proved a gutsy three-quarter length winner in 1:21.96. Hillaby, trained by Mark Casse, gave it her all down the lane in her seasonal debut but the challenge proved a little too difficult for last year’s Sovereign Award-winning female sprinter.
Second choice Unspurned went immediately to the front, getting the first quarter in :22.79, before being challenged by Endless Light in the middle and Hillaby, the 3-5 choice, on the outside. After the half was reached in a blistering :44.81, Unspurned faded and Endless Light took over, but was immediately collared by the favourite, setting the stage for the prolonged stretch duel. Midnight Ballet came on for third, six lengths further back.
Now owned by Jal Dastur, British-bred Endless Light, a daughter of Pivotal, campaigned in England as a three-year-old for her owner and breeder Cheveley Park Stud, winning once and finishing second three times, all on turf.
After being off for the entire 2014 season, she made her North American debut at Gulfstream Park on April 15, finishing second on the grass, then came to Woodbine where she was the runner-up, once again, in a turf allowance test May 27, prior to Wednesday’s breakthrough win.
“It (the pace) was pretty fast,” said Frostad. “I thought, man, we’ve never set her down like that before. She managed to finish very strongly. She wasn’t going to quit today. It was Hillaby’s first start of the year so I think that was to our advantage. She’s versatile.”
The Sweet Briar Too was reduced to a field of six, with the scratches of Resistivity, Kay’s Grace, Remebel and Comtesse. Sent postward a 10-1 outsider, Endless Light, never worse than second in seven career starts, paid $22.30, $4.30 and $2.80, combining with Hillaby ($2.40, $2.10) for a $58 (5-9) exactor. A 5-9-4 (Midnight Ballet, $4.50) triactor returned $218.60.
-30-
More from Canadian Thoroughbred:
