Fresh off a victory in last month’s Grade 3 Trillium Stakes, Gamble’s Ghost heads into Sunday’s stakes feature in winning form for her connections who are looking to repeat in the $125,000 Ontario Matron (Grade 3) at Woodbine.
In the Trillium, Gamble’s Ghost powered to victory off a ground-saving trip engineered by her regular rider Eurico Rosa Da Silva. A graded stakes winner each year of her career, Gamble’s Ghost has also conquered the 2015 Mazarine, 2016 Selene and 2017 Maple Leaf over two turns at Woodbine. The five-year-old Ghostzapper-Gambling Girl mare has earned $842,144 lifetime with eight wins overall from 18 starts.
Gamble’s Ghost’s award-winning stablemate Ami’s Mesa captured the 1-1/16 mile event last year for trainer Josie Carroll and owner/breeder Ivan Dalos.
Carroll also won the Ontario Matron in the past with 2009 champion Smart Surprise, owned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings who has that mare’s daughter Moonlit Promise as a contender this year. Co-owned by Windsor Boys Racing, Moonlit Promise enters the Ontario Matron off top three finishes in the Grade 3 Whimsical and Hendrie sprints at Woodbine. Meet-leading jockey Rafael Hernandez will pick up the mount on the five-year-old Malibu Moon mare.
The Ontario Matron field also includes My Arch Enemy, Grizzel, Sister Nation and Malibu Bonnie, who all competed in the Trillium finishing third through sixth.
Whimsical winner and Hendrie runner-up Let It Ride Mom joins stablemates My Arch Enemy and Malibu Bonnie to give leading trainer Mark Casse three chances in the race.
Daddy’s Great Bay, with apprentice jockey Kazushi Kimura making his initial stakes start, and Just Be Kind complete the line-up.
The field for the Ontario Matron is listed below in post position order. Post time for Sunday’s 10-race program is 1 p.m., with the stakes feature scheduled as race eight.
$125,000 Ontario Matron (Grade 3)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1. Grizzel – David Moran – Michael Doyle
2. Moonlit Promise – Rafael Hernandez – Josie Carroll
3. My Arch Enemy – Gary Boulanger – Mark Casse
4. Sister Nation – Luis Contreras – Michael De Paulo
5. Malibu Bonnie – Jerome Lermyte – Mark Casse
6. Daddy’s Great Bay – Kazushi Kimura – Gordon Colbourne
7. Gamble’s Ghost – Eurico Rosa Da Silva – Josie Carroll
8. Just Be Kind – Steve Bahen – Reade Baker
9. Let It Ride Mom – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
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