Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Dixie Moon to Wonder Where
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Woodbine Oaks winner Dixie Moon did not have the best of it in the $1 million Queen’s Plate on June 30, as she was shuffled back at the start and was eased into the stretch. Trainer Catherine Day Phillips said Dixie Moon came out of the race with no issues and will fight another day.
“She’s fine,” she said. “The day didn’t seem to agree with her. The heat was a factor on Plate Day. She was shuffled to the back of the field, a position that she is not accustomed to. She’s walked for a few days and headed back to the track to jog. She’ll get a little break now, and we’ll carry on.”
Day Phillips said it was likely Dixie Moon will make her next start on the turf. Dixie Moon did her best running on the turf as a 2-year-old in 2017, defeating males to win the Cup and Saucer and finishing second in the Grade 1 Natalma. Dixie Moon also ran sixth in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar after stumbling at the start.
Day Phillips said the $225,000 Wonder Where Stakes over 1 1/4 miles on turf Aug. 12, the third and final jewel of the Canadian 3-year-old filly series, could be where Dixie Moon runs next.
“The Wonder Where is a possibility if she bounces back,” she said. “The timing may work, but we will let her tell us.”
Absolution shooting high
Nominations for the $400,000 Prince of Wales Stakes on July 24 at Fort Erie close Tuesday, and Absolution is pointing to the race, the second jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown. Absolution would be the first Canadian Triple Crown starter for trainer Tony Gattellaro.
Absolution joins the top three finishers from the Queen’s Plate – Wonder Gadot, Aheadbyacentury, and Cooler Mike – and sixth-place Ohio Derby finisher Flameaway among the Prince of Wales Stakes probables.
Absolution won his seasonal debut around two turns May 16 and finished sixth in his most recent start, the Plate Trial Stakes on June 9. Gattellaro said the pace scenario did not set up well for Absolution in the Plate Trial.
“We had the Queen’s Plate in our minds,” he said. “He did run such a good race off the shelf this year. He ran so impressively there, and we gave him a shot in the Trial. I don’t think he ran poorly. I think we were expecting a little bit more pace that day. It just didn’t happen. To see that pace come back in the Queen’s Plate, it looks like these horses are going to be a little more prominent, and I think the pace sets up for the style of race that my horse needs. I know he’s talented, and we just want to take a shot.”
Absolution breezed five furlongs in 1:03.40 on the dirt training track Saturday. Gattellaro said Absolution has a lot of experience training over dirt. The Prince of Wales is run over dirt.
“He’s trained on the dirt a lot for me since Day 1,” he said. “He gets over it very, very well. His dam is by Pulpit, so you would think that it would carry over. He happens to like it. He obviously hasn’t raced over it, but from what I’ve seen in the mornings, his stride is very efficient and he gets over it quite well.”
Pink Lloyd fine after loss
Trainer Robert Tiller reported Monday that reigning Canadian Horse of the Year Pink Lloyd exited his stunning loss in Sunday’s $100,000 Shepperton Stakes in good shape. Pink Lloyd had his 11-race win streak in Woodbine stakes snapped in the 6 1/2-furlong Ontario-sired event. He was softened up in a speed duel and ended up third behind Kingsport and Jacks Escarpment.
“Pink Lloyd is fine,” Tiller said. “He jogged sound [Monday] morning. Things didn’t go right for us. That’s horse racing. I’m very proud of him. He will be back.”
Tiller said he hasn’t picked out the next race for Pink Lloyd. Possibilities include the Grade 3 Vigil on July 29 and the $100,000 Kenora on Aug. 29. He won both those stakes during his unbeaten eight-race campaign in 2017.
Silent Sonet to stay on turf
Silent Sonet got back on a winning track after switching to turf to win the Zadracarta Stakes over seven furlongs July 1 at Woodbine. She’ll remain on the turf when she makes her next start in the $100,000 Victoriana Stakes over 1 1/16 miles for Ontario-sired fillies and mares Aug. 6, trainer Nick Gonzalez said.
Silent Sonet began her 4-yearold campaign with a pair of Tapeta sprints, finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes on April 28 and fourth in the restricted Ballade Stakes on May 20. Silent Sonet got a clean run in the Zadracarta, stalking the pace two wide along the backstretch before striking the front in the stretch. She went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Grade 2 Nassau Stakes winner Niigon’s Eclipse.
“We were so happy for her,” Gonzalez said. “She had a couple of troubled trips the first two times we ran her. Things just went right.”
Silent Sonet improved her career record on turf to three wins from five starts with her victory in the Zadracarta. While the Grade 2 Royal North Stakes over six furlongs on turf July 29 could have been an option, Gonzalez said he would like to keep Silent Sonet in restricted company for the time being while continuing to stretch her out.
“She galloped out super in that seven-eighths of a mile race,” he said. “She’s eligible for those Ontario-sired races, and it’s just the right fit right now. Obviously, down the road we’d be looking for some graded earnings because it means a lot in her second career.”