Gamble’s Ghost looks to double up

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Gamble’s Ghost will look to record her second consecutive graded stakes victory in Sunday’s Grade 3, $125,000 Ontario Matron Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta at Woodbine.

After finishing third while trying to close into a slow pace in the allowance prep for the Grade 3 Trillium Stakes on May 21, Gamble’s Ghost got a much more favorable pace scenario in the Trillium on June 17, closing from off the pace for a halflength victory over Ickymasho.

“She’s so special,” trainer Josie Carroll said following Gamble’s Ghost’s victory in the Trillium. “She shows up every time. She ran hard against a speed bias last time and didn’t quite get there. She’s just a good horse.”

Gamble’s Ghost should have speed to chase in the Ontario Matron. My Arch Enemy, the pacesetter in both the May 21 allowance and the Trillium, is entered, as is Gamble’s Ghost’s stablemate Moonlit Promise, who has been forwardly placed in both of her route races.

KEY CONTENDERS

Gamble’s Ghost, by Ghostzapper Last 3 Beyers: 90-78-83

◗ The Trillium was her fourth graded stakes score on synthetic. She’s won four of her last five starts on Woodbine’s Tapeta, including the Grade 3 Maple Leaf Stakes and the Belle Mahone Stakes.

Let It Ride Mom, by Into Mischief Last 3 Beyers: 86-85-76

◗ She’ll be stretching out around two turns after two sprints to start the year. She won the Grade 3 Whimsical Stakes off a layoff April 28 before finishing a narrow second to Code Warrior in the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes in her most recent start June 10.

◗ She has won going long on Tapeta, having captured the La Lorgnette Stakes over 1 1/16 miles as a 3-year-old last September.

Moonlit Promise, by Malibu Moon Last 3 Beyers: 83-85-71

◗ She’ll be stretching out around two turns for the first time since 2016 after a pair of narrow defeats in Tapeta sprints. She finished second to Let It Ride Mom in the Whimsical and was third in the Hendrie last time out.

◗ While just two of her 13 starts have been in route races, one of them was a victory in the 1 1/16-mile La Lorgnette Stakes as a 3-year-old in 2016.

Sister Nation, by Into Mischief Last 3 Beyers: 86-81-82

◗ She looked to have every chance on the outside in the Trillium but was steadied briefly in the stretch. She still ran on to be just 1 3/4 lengths behind Gamble’s Ghost in fifth.

◗ She’s never finished more than two lengths behind the winner in her three graded stakes starts and could spring an upset while making her third start off a layoff.

Grizzel, by Kodiac Last 3 Beyers: 88-84-89

◗ She began her 2018 Woodbine campaign with a fifth-place finish on turf in the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes before finishing fourth in the Trillium.

◗ She should benefit from a quicker pace in the Ontario Matron and will start on the rail for the second consecutive race.