Summer Sunday Seeks Stakes Glory in Eternal Search

Summer Sunday, a six-year-old daughter of Silent Name (JPN), chases her ninth career stakes score in the $100,000 Eternal Search Presented by HBPA Ontario, Friday at Woodbine.

Trained by Stuart Simon for owners Anne and William Scott, Summer Sunday arrives at the 7 ½-furlong Inner Turf event for Ontario-sired fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up, in solid form, having gone 1-2-0 in her past three starts.

After a runner-up effort in July in the Ballade Stakes to kick off her current campaign, the bay, bred by Trinity West Stables Ltd., won the Zadracarta Stakes on September 10.

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She returned $10 for the win.

Canada’s champion female sprinter in 2019 heads into the Eternal Search off a second-place performance in the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes on October 3.

“She’s doing really well,” offered Simon. “She just continues to be a very special horse for us.”

The conditioner shared the game plan for Summer Sunday, who sports a 10-3-1 mark from 20 starts.

“She’s a little over $900,000 Canadian in earnings. She’s going to run this time and one more time after that, if all goes well, and if she wins one and runs second in the other, she would break the million-dollar mark or be right on it. That would be nice to do that with her.”

After those races, Summer Sunday will stamp her passport and head to Ireland.

“She’s going to be a broodmare and she’s going to have a forever home with Mr. Scott’s relative in Ireland. So, all being well with her, knock on wood, she’ll race on Friday and again on December 4 (La Prevoyante Stakes), then she’ll be retired. It’s very nice to know that she’s going to a place where she’ll be well looked after for the rest of her days.”

Summer Sunday launched her career with a win on July 15, 2017, going on to net the natural hat trick to complete her rookie season with a perfect three-for-three mark, which included victories in the Nandi and Muskoka Stakes.

Simon, who has 835 career wins, continues to marvel at the mare’s versatile ways.

“I didn’t raise her, but I did buy her as a yearling, and I’ve had her for her whole career. Not taking anything away from all of the great horses that have been here, but most of them are really good at one thing, probably, whether it’s running short or running long, turf or synthetic.

“She has won stakes races from five furlongs up to a mile-and-a-sixteenth on all three surfaces at Woodbine. She’s won a five-furlong race on the Inner Turf, she’s won multiple graded stakes on the main track, and she’s won a graded stakes race on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, as well as a two-turn Open stakes race on the synthetic. Not many of the past champions and good horses here have that kind of diversity.”

The Eternal Search is slated as race seven. First race post time is 4:45 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com or the Dark Horse Bets app.

$100,000 ETERNAL SEARCH STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – November Fog – Shaun Bridgmohan – Sarah Ritchie
2 – Royal Wedding – Daisuke Fukumoto – Nathan Squires
3 – She’s a Dream – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll
4 – Summer Sunday – Rafael Hernandez – Stuart Simon
5 – Hello Friends – David Moran – John LeBlanc Jr.
6 – Golden Vision – Omar Moreno – Tino Attard
7 – Preferred Guest – Antonio Gallardo – Mark Casse