Already a two-time turf stakes winner, Woodbine newcomer Got Stormy headlines a field of eight three-year-old fillies entered in Saturday’s $125,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Grade 3).
Gary Barber’s Got Stormy will make her Woodbine debut in the one-mile event following a pair of stakes wins stateside over the same distance for trainer Mark Casse. In addition to posting a victory over the Gulfstream Park green in her first start from the Casse stable during the winter, the Get Stormy-Super Phoebe filly won the Penn Oaks at Penn National and the Wild Applause Stakes at Belmont Park last month. Got Stormy, who has earned $226,925 from just six career starts, will aim to conquer the E.P. Taylor Turf Course next with Patrick Husbands picking up the mount.
“She’s been here for a couple of weeks now,” reported assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan. “She came up after her last race at Belmont and she’s been going very well. We’re very happy with her and we think she’s a nice little filly. This race is right up her ally – a mile on the turf. That’s exactly what she has been really excelling at.”
Fresh off a victory in the $225,000 Bison City Stakes over 1-1/16 miles on the Tapeta, the locally-based Casse trainee Safe to Say will move to the turf for the first time since her third-place career debut last July. Owned by Barber and Windways Farm, the Justin Phillip-Dicey Girl filly is two-for-three in rein to Jerome Lermyte during her sophomore campaign with a rallying third-place finish in the Grade 3 Selene, also a 1-1/16 mile affair.
“It’s always been in the back of our minds that she would run well on the turf,” said Sullivan. “It’s not that big of a change from the Tapeta — those surfaces are not completely dissimilar.
“Everything is going well. She came out of the Bison in good order and we’re looking for a good performance.”
Casse, who campaigned Sovereign Award finalist Enstone to Bison City and Ontario Colleen wins last year, has already racked up a meet-leading nine stakes victories at Woodbine in 2018.
Another recent Woodbine stakes winner, Fairy Hill will be tested for the first time over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course. Claimed for $25,000 at Woodbine last fall by Bruno Schickedanz, the improving Fairy Hill put forth a respectable fourth-place showing going 1-1/8 miles against Woodbine Oaks competition then cut back to seven furlongs and captured the Lady Angela Stakes in her recent starts here for jockey Jeffery Alderson and trainer Norm McKnight.
Trainer Graham Motion has a pair of Ontario Colleen contenders including European import Armoricaine and Glenangus Farm homebred Peach of a Gal, a late-closing winner of the Christiana Stakes (approx. 1-1/16 miles) last time out on the turf at Delaware Park.
The field also includes recent winners A. A. Azula’s Arch, Get Explicit and Ladies Night.
Here is a complete look at the field in post position order for the Ontario Colleen, which is scheduled as the eighth race on Saturday’s 1 p.m. program.
$125,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Grade 3)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 A. A. Azula’s Arch – Eurico Rosa Da Silva – Kevin Attard
2 Armoricaine (GB) – Alan Garcia – Graham Motion
3 Ladies Night – Gary Boulanger – Gail Cox
4 Get Explicit David Moran – Barbara Minshall
5 Fairy Hill – Jeffery Alderson – Norm McKnight
6 Got Stormy – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
7 Peach of a Gal – Rafael Hernandez – Graham Motion
8 Safe to Say – Jerome Lermyte – Mark Casse
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