The first weekend of stakes races at Woodbine on April 27 and 28 will feature sprint sprints between three-year-old fillies and three-year-old boys, both of whom should be competitive.
The Star Shoot Stakes for fillies on opening day should be a loaded dash, with the promising Ontario-bred C C ROYAL (Flatter) now training at Woodbine for Lori and Davi Hughes’ Mens Grille Racing under trainer Mark Casse. Both American winners of several races, MYSTIC LAKE under Saffie Joseph and NICE AS PIE, are nominated but may also have to wait for the longer Ruling Angel races next month.
Trainer Kelsey Danner is aiming to send horses to Woodbine this year, and Nice As Pie is going four for four. However, it is apparently difficult for the stable to get its barn workers to Ontario.
There are just 12 contenders for the Woodstock Stakes on April 28, but one of them is NAPTOWN, a King's Plate contender trained by Graham Motion and owned by Madaket Stables and Robert LaPenta.
MY BOY PRINCE, the highest-ranked two-year-old colt in Canada last year and the top contender for the Canadian Thoroughbred King's Plate, will be sent to the KING CORRIE STAKES on May 19. Two weeks ago at Keeneland, the Cairo Prince colt made his season debut in the Palisades Stakes, finishing ninth in the 5 1/2 furlong run after being beaten just 3 1/4 lengths.
At Keeneland last weekend, Hall of Fame trainer ROGER ATTFIELD released a beautiful one. A maiden special weight turf race was won by READY FOR SHIRL, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner SHIRL'S SPEIGHT, who came from last place with a 77 Beyer Figure. The white-faced filly's tremendous effort paid off handsomely for her backers as she won 7-to-1. Charles Fipke raised a Kentucky colt named Ready for Shirl.
You must be familiar with the Shirl family. This amazing Fipke lineage in Vancouver was founded by NOEL HICKEY'S homebred LADY SHIRL (That's a Nice - Canonization by Native Heritage).
Illinois-bred Lady Shirl ran a stellar racing career, winning eight stakes races, the Grade 1 Flower Bowl, the Grade 2 E.P. Taylor (at Woodbine), and 18 other races in 41 starts for a total of almost $950,000.
When Fipke paid $485,000 for Lady Shirl at auction, she was already eighteen years old, but by then she had given birth to Grade 1 winner Shakeapeare. She produced Graded Stakes winner Lady Shakespeare and Breeders' Cup Filly & More Turf winner Perfect Shirl (dam of Shirl's Speight and Ready for Shirl, etc.) for Fipke. A designated Reine-de-Course mare is Lady Shirl.