Joey Gee Thoroughbreds’ Line of Vision collected her third stakes win facing Ontario-sired fillies in the $100,000 Eternal Search, the 1-1/16-mile co-featured stakes event on Sunday at Woodbine.
Line of Vision had three foes in her sights through a :26.30 first quarter and :52.01 half as longshot leaver H. M. S. Pinafore led the field of five sophomore fillies with 4-5 favourite She’s Got Fire looming to her outside and Clickity Clack racing three-wide.
She’s Got Fire struck the front at three-quarters in 1:16.11 and battled on between foes, however, jockey Luis Contreras maneuvered Line of Vision to a clear path and she took off down the stretch to prevail by three-quarters of a length in 1:46.84.
Clickity Clack edged out She’s Got Fire in a photo finish for place while H. M. S. Pinafore ended up fourth. Gosudarina rounded out the field.
“I was thinking just to be careful with the pace on the lead because I know they are going to try to walk and sprint home,” said Contreras, explaining his racing strategy. “I just tried to keep my filly nice and calm right there if they were going too slow like that.”
Andrew Smith trains the Court Vision-Gold Lined filly, who was bred by Dr. B. Van Arem and has won four of her six career starts including last year’s Victorian Queen and South Ocean Stakes.
Line of Vision improved off a lackluster season debut at Woodbine finishing seventh in the seven-furlong Lady Angela Stakes, which Smith said was no fault of the filly’s.
“We first worked her on the third of June and we ran on the 29th of June, so it was a real rush job [to get her ready],” he said. “But it helped her get forward to this race and made a difference really so we’re happy.”
While Smith said today’s slow pace was worrisome, he noted the 1-1/16-mile distance suits her well.
“She’s extremely professional. Not a very big filly, but extremely professional and we’re very happy with her,” he said.
The lion’s share of the purse pushed Line of Vision’s career earnings over the $200,000 mark.
Line of Vision was the 3-1 second choice in the wagering and paid $8.20, $5.30 and $2.70. She combined with Clickity Clack ($5.40, $2.80) for a 1-4 exacta worth $39.10. A $1 trifecta of 1-4-5 (She’s Got Fire, $2.10) paid $37.35 and a $1 superfecta of 1-4-5-2 (H. M. S. Pinafore) returned $138.20.
Royal Intrigue wins second leg of the Turf Endurance Series
Royal Intrigue entered Woodbine’s 2018 Turf Endurance Series for the second leg on Sunday and established himself as a front-runner with a winning effort over 1-1/2 miles on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course.
With David Moran aboard, Royal Intrigue raced mid-pack then rallied out from behind defending series champion Tesseron, who took the lead off the final turn before finishing seventh. The eight-year-old Silent Name-Royal Dalliance gelding raced on down the stretch to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 2:26.62 for owner/trainer Joanna Iglar.
With the victory, Royal Intrigue earned 10 points and moved into a tie atop the series leaderboard with Artistico, who won the 1-3/8-mile opener on July 1 but was not entered in the second of four $50,000 legs.
After gapping most of the field throughout the early stages of the race, Lookin At Bravo made up significant ground as he stormed home to finish second ahead of English Illusion in a photo finish. First leg competitors Sine Metu and Kaigun added to their point totals with back-to-back top five finishes in the series.
The Turf Endurance Series continues on September 9 with the third leg to be contested over 1-5/8 miles before culminating with the final 2-1/4 mile marathon on October 14. Participating horses earn points based on order of finish throughout the four legs to determine the series winner and recipient of bonuses totaling $40,000. The owner of the series winning horse will be awarded a $25,000 bonus while the trainer will receive $15,000.
Sent off at odds of 10-1 in the field scratched down to 13 starters, Royal Intrigue paid $22.80, $11.20 and $7.30. He combined with 17-1 shot Lookin at Bravo ($16.60, $10.70) for an exacta worth $417.10. English Illusion ($4) completed the trifecta, which paid $1,232.50 for a $1 ticket. The superfecta returned $6,681.45 and the Jackpot-Hi paid $14,326.25 for $1 tickets.
The Jackpot Hi-5 had multiple winners and the carryover climbed to $256,382.71.
Live Thoroughbred racing continues at Woodbine on Monday afternoon with a special holiday program in place of this week’s Wednesday night card. The $100,000 Victoriana Stakes is featured as the eighth of nine races. First race post time is 1 p.m.
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