The heat has been on in southern Ontario since the season officially switched to summer on June 20.
Saturday’s 11-race card was held on a humid, overcast day with temperatures in the 30s Celsius and the looming major heat event projected for Sunday. Woodbine announced that the Sunday card would start at 4 p.m. rather than 1:05 p.m. in the hopes of avoiding the forecast 44-46 humidex readings.
The Alywow Stakes, presented by the Greenwood Stakes, was the day’s feature, a $100,000 turf dash for three-year-old fillies. Two invaders dominated proceedings as Ed Seltzer, Bev Anderson and Reeves Racing’s LOVE CERVERE sped to a 2 1/2-length win for trainer Miguel Clement, whose father, noted conditioner Christophe Clement, passed away just two weeks ago.
Love Cervere won the Take the A Train Stakes at Aqueduct at six furlongs on turf in her last outing for the senior Clement, who had decided the Into Mischief filly was better at shorter distances. With Eric Cancel as her fifth different rider from five races, Love Cervere had a nice trip throughout the 6 1/2 furlong Alywow and won for the third time in five career races. Kentucky invader It Ain’t Two (GB) for trainer Riley Mott didn’t have the same smooth trip; she was left too far back after checking early in the race and closed well for second. The time was 1:15.46.
Love Cervere was bred by Seltzer and Anderson from their mare Panther Strike, an Ontario-bred by Black Minnaloushe who raced for Seltzer and trainer Dan Vella and was a winner on turf. Panther Strike, a granddaughter of Canadian champion Bold Ruritana, bred by Minshall Farms, is the dam of Grade 3 Grey Stakes winner Chapalu and two other winners.
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CATHERINE DAY PHILLIPS got her first and second wins of the season in consecutive races. WYOMING BILL, owned and bred by her longtime clients Sean and Dorothy Fitzhenry, was up in time to win a turf allowance/optional race under Emma-Jayne Wilson in race 8. The son of Curlin – Dixie Chicken had the blinkers removed after two photo finish losses on Tapeta and turf and this was his second career win from nine attempts.
The chestnut four-year-old colt is a full brother to Woodbine Oaks winner Dixie Moon and half-brother to stakes winner Tom’s Magic.
Day Phillips and her team came right back and won with Braconcrest Inc.’s Innisfree Isle, an Ontario-bred grey by Bolt d’Oro – Garavogue Colleen by Sligo Bay (Ire) who was making her second career start. Fraser Aebly rode the filly, a $75,000 yearling purchase at the 2023 Fasig Tipton October sale.
Innisfree Isle is a half-sister to stakes winner Lac Macaza and she was bred by Frank Mermestein and Elliot Kohn.
Trainer JAMES BEGG unleashed a debut winning two-year-old filly, PAGEANT QUEEN, for Windways Farm and Upland Flats Racing. The winner was tough on the pace and then pulled away to take race 1 under Rafael Hernandez. The daughter of Point of Entry – Queen of the Dawn, by Sun King, is a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Timeskip. Pageant Queen was bred by Leslie and Tony Russo in Ontario and the filly was a $35,000 CTHS yearling.
Begg also won a race on Thursday last week with Galley Head.
The amazing eight-year-old RON’S GIZMO won his season debut for Linda Theil and Harri Hosein, rallying under Hernandez to take the 10th race on the turf, worth $20,700. The son of Giant Gizmo, who had a wildly fast pace to run at set by Piper’s Factor, went over the $400,000 mark in earnings with his ninth win in 32 races. Ron Sadler, a two-time winner on the week before Sunday’s racing, trains the Kanny Ng-bred.
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