Lexie Lou Doesn't Disappoint in Wonder Where
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It was
her return to the races after a glorious Queen’s Plate victory last
month and Lexie Lou disappointed no one with a stunning three-length
victory in Sunday’s $250,000 Wonder Where Stakes at Woodbine.
Lexie
Lou, an Ontario-bred daughter of Sligo Bay, was ridden to her third
straight win by Patrick Husbands for trainer Mark Casse and owner Gary
Barber.
Skylander Girl was second with Lapsang third.
But the 1
¼-mile turf race was all about Lexie Lou. The bay filly was making her
first start after a high-profile two-race tour de force which included
the Woodbine Oaks in June and the Queen’s Plate, where she was a 1
¼-length winner, last time out.
Casse
elected to skip the Prince of Wales, second jewel of Canada’s Triple
Crown, contested on dirt at Fort Erie, and run in the Wonder Where,
third gem of Canada’s Triple Tiara series for fillies, with an eye to
autumn time grass racing.
She
proved with authority that she can compete on grass, sitting forwardly
off the early pace of :25.29, :48.61 and 1:12.39, set by Skylander Girl.
When Husbands asked her for run at the top of the stretch, she
exploded with a sustained burst of speed that left rivals wanting in the
stretch en route to the win in her turf debut in 2:00.90.
"When I
worked her 12 days ago, I told Mark she’s a different horse on the
turf," Husbands said. "She’s probably 20 lengths better, but the only
problem is I didn’t know how I was going to get her to shut off.”
Barber had an early inkling that Lexie Lou could run on turf and Polytrack.
“I saw
her race against Zensational Bunny (in the Star Shoot) and she galloped
out like a monster,” Barber said. “I said ‘Wow’. I watched it three or
four times over, called Mark, who was at the sales, and told him this
filly could move up on the turf. She’s bred for it, yet she’s doing so
well on synthetics. She was worth (going after) and the rest is
history.”
Lexie Lou now has earnings of $1,399,250 to go with six career stakes wins. She paid $2.90 to win.
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