Conrad Farms’ Theogony made a last minute drive on the inside to edge Smartyfly in Sunday’s $108,000 Belle Mahone Stakes, at Woodbine.
The Mark Casse trainee captured her first career stakes victory in the 1 1/16-mile ‘Poly’ stake while making her 2015 debut, returning to the races after a lengthy 11-month layoff. Guided by Gary Boulanger, the five-year-old chestnut has now recorded two consecutive victories with the veteran rider aboard.
In a compact field of five, Theogony was the public’s third choice at odds of 7-1. Headlining the stakes contest was the heavily wagered Checkered Past, a Sam-Son Farm homebred that exited the gate at odds of 1-2. The daughter of Smart Strike never threatened, as she made a late run three wide, advancing to a third-place finish.
Drawing post position two, Theogony broke well from the gate and pressed the pace setter, Aunt Els, through splits of 24.81 and :49.24. As Aunt Els evened out, Theogony took the lead at the top of the stretch and was immediately challenged by second favourite, Smartyfly. The two mares battled side by side down the stretch, with Theogony opening up in the final sixteenth to win by 1 ¼ lengths, stopping the clock in 1:44.13.
“She’s been training well,” said Boulanger. “I thought she would be competitive and it all worked out.”
“It was just a matter of asking her when to run, and when I did, she gave me everything she had”.
Theogony was bred in Kentucky by A Lakin and Sons Inc. She is a five-year-old chestnut mare by Curlin out of a Tale of the Cat mare, Upcoming Story. Her winning run in the Belle Mahone banked a total of $60,000. She now has four career wins with earnings of over $180,000.
She paid $17.30 to win and $6.50 to place, combing with Smartyfly ($4.20) for a $62.20 exactor. The $1 triactor (Checkered Past) paid $84.70. There was no show wagering.
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