Fancy Fillies in Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes Sunday at Woodbine

The E.P. Taylor Stakes (G1) is a popular and prestigious race on the Woodbine calendar and while the 1 1/4 mile turf race (on the E.P. Taylor turf course) is usually held on the same day as the Canadian International (G1), this year the race goes alone. The International was moved to September this year and did not get the field the famous race warranted but the E.P. Taylor has assembled a solid group of fillies and mares.

The turf is likely to be at least yielding for the October 17 race as plenty of rain is expected through mid-Saturday.

Last year’s winner ETOILE (Fr) , set to sell at the Fasig Tipton November sale, has been pointed to this race by trainer Chad Brown. She has raced just twice since her Taylor win in 2020 with a fourth in the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley Stakes in April at Keeneland and then a close second in the Dance Smartly Stakes at Woodbine on Aug. 22. Irad Ortiz Jr. will be in town to ride the 5-year-old mare.

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Etoile’s rivals are much tougher this year and her trainer Brown has three entered in the Taylor. The other two are Group 2 winner KALIFORNIA QUEEN (Ger) who goes back on Lasix following a third-place finish in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at 1 1/16 miles. Flavian Prat will ride. GREAT ISLAND, a smooth-striding mare by Scat Daddy, won the Grade 3 Matchmaker Stakes at Monmouth in July was recently a good second in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Invitational at Saratoga to the top turf mare War Like Goddess.

WALIYAK (Fr) is a formidable arrival for trainer Roger Varian, who won the 2018 Taylor with Sheika Reika. Waliyak, a soft turf lover, comes off a win in the Group 3 Prix Bertrand de Tarragon at Chantilly at 1 1/8 miles (see video below). In her previous race the 4-year-old filly by Le Havre (Ire) was second to the top filly Saffron Beach, who went on to win the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes. Waliyak is owned by Fawzi Abdulla Nass and will be ridden by Jack Mitchell.

Trainer Christophe Clement has a pair in the field including Dance Smartly Stakes winner MUTAMAKINA (GB), a free-running mare by Nathaniel who pressed the pace in the Dance Smartly win and then held off the furious rally by Etoile. Dylan Davis rides Mutamakina who has three wins at 10 furlongs.

Clement also has LA DRAGONTEA (GB) in the field and this Lope de Vega filly came to Woodbine and won her first graded stakes race in the Canadian (G2) over four rivals including Canadian-bred Court Return.

Newly purchased KEYFLOWER (Fr), the lone 3-year-old in the race, competes for Team Valor and Gary Barber. This filly won the Prix Occitanie on sept. 4 at La Teste Buch at 1 3/16 miles at 7-to-1. Mauricio Sanchez trains and Eddy Hardouin rides.

FAMILY WAY is an exciting filly for Brendan Walsh who trains the Uncle Mo grey miss for a group of friends. Family Way toughed out a neck win in the Kentucky Downs Ladies Marathon on Sept. 12 for her fourth win in 11 races. Kazushi Kimura gets the mount.

COURT RETURN and MERVEILLEUX make up the Canadian contingent. The former was a close second in the Taylor last year at 41-to-1 and she has been rounding back into form this fall. Merveilleux was a strong third in the Dance Smartly and then fourth in the Canadian Stakes. She is fond of the 10 furlong distance and she has a new rider in Antonio Gallardo.

The E.P. Taylor is the final event in Woodbine’s Ladies of the Lawn Series.

Launched in 2019, Woodbine’s Ladies of the Lawn is a points-based bonus series that includes three premier turf races for fillies and mares. The owner of the horse who has accumulated the most points upon the conclusion of the three races will receive a $50,000 bonus, while the owner whose horse has accumulated the second and third most points will receive a $15,000 and $10,000 bonus, respectively.

The Ladies of the Lawn Series began on Sunday, August 22, with the Dance Smartly Stakes, followed by the Canadian Stakes on Saturday, September 18. The inaugural winner of the 2019 Ladies of the Lawn Series was Starship Jubilee, Canada’s reigning Horse of the Year.

Court Return, La Dragontea and Mutamakina share top spot with 10 points each. Merveilleux (8 points) and Etoile (7 points) are next.

As part of the Ladies of the Lawn series, Woodbine is supporting the charity Rethink Breast Cancer. From August 22 to October 17, racing enthusiasts can bid on specially-designed pillows created from new saddle towels featuring the Rethink Breast Cancer logo. Proceeds from the online auction will be donated to Rethink Breast Cancer to assist those living with the disease.

To view and bid on items, click here.

First post on Sunday is 12:55 p.m. Racing fans can watch and wager on the action through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$600,000 E.P. TAYLOR STAKES
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Waliyak – Jack Mitchell – Roger Varian
2 – Etoile – Irad Ortiz Jr. – Chad Brown
3 – Court Return – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
4 – Kalifornia Queen – Flavien Prat – Chad Brown
5 – Family Way – Kazushi Kimura – Brendan Walsh
6 – Mutamakina – Dylan Davis – Christophe Clement
7 – Merveilleux – Antonio Gallardo – Kevin Attard
8 – Great Island – Rafael Hernandez – Chad Brown
9 – Keyflower – Eddy Hardouin – Mauricio Delcher Sanchez
10 – La Dragontea – Joel Rosario – Christophe Clement

🌟 WALIYAK wins the Gr.3 Prix Bertrand De Tarragon @fgchantilly for @varianstable.

The filly becomes LE HAVRE’s 19th Group winner, she was bred by S De Moratalla Et Al and sold @InfoArqana for €240,000 to @OStLawrence. #ReadAllAboutIt @MontfortPreaux pic.twitter.com/hknDmgQ9uF

— EBN (@bloodstocknews) September 17, 2021