Queen Macha chases Grade 3 Bessarabian crown / King’s Plate champ Caitlinhergrtness takes on 12 in Grade 3 Maple Leaf
TORONTO, November 7, 2024 – Queen Macha will make her third straight graded stakes appearance in Saturday’s Grade 3 $135,000 Bessarabian, at Woodbine.
The seven-furlong main track feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, has drawn 14 starters, including Queen Macha.
A daughter of Keen Ice out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Sue Me Baby, the 5-year-old has constructed a record of 4-5-7 from 27 starts, to go along with $221,774 (U.S.) in purse earnings.
Trained by Martin Drexler for owner C2 Racing Stable LLC, the grey mare will contest her fourth consecutive stakes feature after a third in the Sweet Briar Too on Aug. 3, a third in the Grade 3 Seaway on Aug. 24 and a seventh in the Grade 2 bet365 Dance Smartly on Oct. 5.
“The last race we ran her in [Dance Smartly] was a bit of a shot to take, but I still think she will be good on the grass,” said Drexler. “Honestly, everything that day just wasn’t ideal. It just didn’t work out.”
That said, Drexler, who has eclipsed the $3 million mark in purse earnings for the second consecutive campaign, expects Queen Macha to feel right at home at the seven-panel distance.
“She is very good now, physically, and at this point in her career, I think the seven-eighths on the synthetic is pretty much the perfect scenario for her. It still isn’t an easy spot for her to run in, but I know she is going to like it.
“She is doing great. Knock on wood, we are going into this in great shape. Hopefully, everything shakes out the way we hope, and she gets a decent trip, she should have the outcome we are looking for. She is in very good order for this one.”
Bred by Calumet Farm, Queen Macha launched her career on September 10, 2021, at Gulfstream Park, and finished second.
Her next seven starts, all at Gulfstream, yielded another runner-up effort, a pair of thirds, and four consecutive fourth-place results.
From Feb. 2, 2022, to Sept. 29, 2022, a stretch of nine races, she finished fourth on eight occasions. Queen Macha’s breakthrough win came at Delaware Park during that time frame, in her tenth lifetime start, on July 2, 2022.
Her most recent trip to the winner’s circle came one race prior to the Sweet Briar Too, on July 6, when she rallied for a three-quarter length tally at seven furlongs on the Woodbine all-weather track.
“We know what she is capable of, and we love having her in our barn,” said Drexler. “Like I said, I think this distance, for now, is what she is best suited for.”
Jorge Pizarro is the groom.
Other starters Grade 3 Ontario Fashion Stakes winner A Game, Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes winner Gal in a Rush, multiple stakes winner Sunday Shoes, Toronto Cup Stakes winner and multiple graded stakes placed Love to Shop, and Bison City Stakes winner Stormcast.
Trainer Roger Attfield and Kinghaven Farms teamed to win the first two editions of the Bessarabian, in 1985 with Summer Mood and one year later with Playlist.
The race is named after Canada’s champion older female of 1986, a multiple stakes winning daughter of Vice Regent trained by Michael Doyle and owned by Eaton Hall Farm. She finished her racing career with an 18-5-4 mark from 37 starts.
Also on Saturday, 13 fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and upward, will travel 1 ¼ miles on the main track in the Grade 3 $135,000 Maple Leaf Stakes.
The field includes this year’s King’s Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness.
Named after WNBA basketball star Caitlin Clark, the daughter of Omaha Beach, who was the lone filly in the 165th running of $1 million Canadian classic, rallied late under Rafael Hernandez to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:03.45.
Trained by Kevin Attard for Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC, Caitlinhergrtness heads into the Maple Leaf off a third in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 12.
“I thought she ran a great race last time out,” said Attard. “It was a massive step up and she delivered a big effort. We were very happy with it.”
Caitlinhergrtness launched her career in the U.S., where she made four starts. After a third at Saratoga in her debut, she broke her maiden next time out at Belmont. She closed out her 2-year-old campaign with a fourth in the Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct and opened her 3-year-old season with a fourth at Gulfstream before bringing her talents north to Woodbine.
“She is like a willing student who passes every test with flying colours,” praised Attard, who will also send out multiple graded stakes winner Fashionably Fab.
The chestnut filly has compiled a record 3-1-2 from 8 starts and has $688,077 (U.S.) in purse earnings.
Bred in Ontario by Jesse Korona, Caitlinhergrtness went through three public auctions before starting her racing life. Her current owners bought her for $375,000 from the Off the Hook consignment at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
Troy Garnett is the groom.
Other starters include graded stakes placed Blueberry Fields, who has a mark 5-2-3 from 13 starts, to go along with $232,564 (U.S.) in purse earnings.
A 6-year-old daughter of Frac Daddy out of the Candy Ride (ARG) mare Candy Cruise, Blueberry Fields finished a hard charging third in the Grade 3 Matron last time out on Sept. 14.
It was her first stakes appearance for trainer and owner Brandon Greer, who co-bred the grey with his father, Terrance.
“She was like a freight train after the wire too,” said Greer, who saddled Town Cruise to victory in the 2021 Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. “She galloped out quite strongly and we were very impressed with her. She had a lot of good energy coming out of the race in the days after.”
Blueberry Field’s two starts prior to the Ontario Matron, both taken off the turf and run over the Woodbine main track, included a half-length win at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 17.
After a third, eleventh and seventh to start her career, she broke her maiden in a 1 1/16-mile main track race on July 13, 2023, and has finished in the top four in 10 straight races.
From July 13, 2023, to Oct. 28, 2023, a span of five starts, she went 3-2-0.
“I think what impresses me the most is that she has always had that big engine and gets that wonderful flowing stride going when she can get that going,” said Greer. “Some of her early races, she got a little stuck. When she gets that long stride going, it is just the most beautiful thing to watch.
“In later races, she has learned there is a time for it. She doesn’t always have to go straight for it – she can wait for the moment and then really reach out. It has given her a new aspect to her that I feel enhances the beauty of the way she goes.”
Now, she will traverse 10 furlongs, a route of ground Greer and his team believe is a good fit for Blueberry Fields.
“Everyone is intrigued by that distance for her. We are all very interested to see how she will do that distance. This race has been fun to watch and of interest to us. Horses always seem to be punching above their weight and it’s nice to see the mares go a mile and quarter late in the season.
“Going back to the stall and looking at her, she gives me confidence. This is a race that I am really looking forward to seeing how she will do.”
Blueberry Fields will also be sporting a look she has fashioned for the past month and half.
“I would say [she likes to run at this time of the year]. She likes the cooler weather, but she also likes to grow a coat for the cooler weather. She has already started to get a little shaggy. She started to grow that winter hair at the end of September when it was still warm. That’s just her – something she has done before.”
As for the name, Greer noted, “When she was younger, she started off dark and gradually greyed out, but there was a hint of blue to the tint – it was quite beautiful. We were looking for a name and dad just liked that one. It seemed to really suit her.”
Craig Giuliani is the groom.
Conn Smythe, principal owner of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927 to 1961 and builder of Maple Leaf Gardens, leads all owners with seven Maple Leaf crowns. The race was inaugurated in 1892.
First post is 1:10 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.
Field for the Grade 3 Bessarabian (Race 8)
Post - Horse - Jockey – Trainer
1 – Dolce Sopresa – Sofia Vives – Josie Carroll
2 – Tito’s Calling – Eswan Flores – Mike De Paulo
3 – Stormcast – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
4 – Queen Macha – Leo Salles – Martin Drexler
5 – A Game – Fraser Aebly – Josie Carroll
6 – Gal in a Rush – Romero Maragh – Christophe Clement
7 – Sunday Shoes – Walter Rodriguez – Wesley Ward
8 – Spansive – Austin Adams – Kevin Attard
9 – Star Candy – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
10 – Love to Shop – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard
11 – Tripolina – Sahin Civaci – Kevin Attard
12 – Owen’s Tour Guide – Jose Campos – William Armata
13 – Metaphysical – Ryan Munger – Tony Gattellaro
14 – Storm Miami (IRE) – Oisin Murphy – Brendan Walsh
Field for the Grade 3 Maple Leaf (Race 7)
Post - Horse - Jockey – Trainer
1 – Aha Moment – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
2 – Millie Girl – Ryan Munger – Catherine Day Phillips
3 – Ecstasy – Fraser Aebly – Sid Attard
4 – Thegirlfromireland – Romero Maragh – Graham Motion
5 – Fashionably Fab – David Moran – Kevin Attard
6 – Elysian Field – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
7 – Tito’s Calling – Leo Salles – Mike De Paulo
8 – Blueberry Fields – Justin Stein – Brandon Greer
9 – Forever Dixie – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
10 – Selenaia (IRE) – Adam Beschizza – Jonathan Thomas
11 – Ephrata (GB) – Sofia Vives – Josie Carroll
12 – Queen Regent (GB) – Oisin Murphy – Brendan Walsh
13 – Caitlinhergrtness – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
.jpg "Queen Macha and jockey Rafael Hernandez winning Race 7 on July 6, 2024 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo)")
.jpg "Caitlinhergrtness and jockey Rafael Hernandez winning The King's Plate on August 23, 2024 at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo)")
