Woodbine Sunday: Ballade Stakes Draws Big Field of 13

ARTIE’S PRINCESS, whose co-owner and breeder Sarah Ramsey recently passed away, figures to be favoured for the $100,000 Ballade Stakes on Sunday, June 26 at Woodbine. The 6-furlong spring is for 4-year-olds and upward, fillies and mares, sired by an Ontario stallion.

Canada’s Champion Female Sprinter of 2020, Artie’s Princess, returns to her favourite track from New York where she is stabled with trainer Saffie Jospeh, Jr. The 5-year-old by the late We Miss Artie – Stormkeeper by Stormy Atlantic has seen limited action since her championship season when she won the Grade 2 Bessarabian over top mare Boardroom. She raced just once in 2021 and then was moved from trainer Wesley Ward to Joseph.

Artie’s Princess returned to action on May 8 at Woodbine in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes and set the pace to the top of the stretch before slipping back to fourth. Boardroom was second that day and came back to win the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes and third-place finisher Dreaming of Drew came back to win the Belle Mahone Stakes.

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Patrick Husbands is named to ride the mare.

Last year’s Ballade winner GOLDEN VISION, second in her 2022 return in an allowance/optional claiming race to speedy Spanish Ballerina (third in the 2021 Ballade) has had two workouts for trainer Tino Attard since that comeback race. She is an off-the-pace sprinter for breeders Elizabeth and Gordon Lickrish.

SPANISH BALLERINA comes off her 5th career win when she led all the way in that sprint on May 14 over Golden Vision, getting away from modest pace fractions under jockey David Moran. That was her first win in a couple of seasons. The good news for the grey mare is that there is not a ton of early speed in the field other than Artie’s Princess.

A longshot play in the Ballade could be SILENT CAUSEWAY, a descendant of Ballade. This 5-year-old adds blinkers after a drab season debut but won a dash in November when adding blinkers.

$100,000 BALLADE STAKES – Race 7, June 26

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – November Fog – Antonio Gallardo – Sarah Ritchie
2 – Red Equinox – Luis Contreras – Jamie Attard
3 – Jilli Marie – Rafael Hernandez – Katerina Vassilieva
4 – Hello Friends – Emma-Jayne Wilson – John LeBlanc, Jr.
5 – Mrs. Del – Skye Chernetz – Jordan Lay
6 – Golden Vision – Kazushi Kimura – Tino Attard
7 – Silent Causeway – Sahin Civaci – Laura Krasauskaite
8 – Ishiyaya – Daisuke Fukumoto – Michael Mattine
9 – Artie’s Princess – Patrick Husbands – Saffie Joseph, Jr.
10 – Lorena – Gary Boulanger – Stuart Simon
11 – Souper Pecan – Juan Crawford – George Billers
12 – Trading Bay – Declan Carroll – Darren Glennon
13 – Spanish Ballerina – David Moran – Frank Huarte