TORONTO, ON – Wertheimer and Frere homebred Alda tipped out halfway home and rallied strongly late to nip the 4/5 favorite Dreaming of Drew at the wire in Sunday’s $100,000 Catch A Glimpse Stakes at Woodbine.
Breaking a step slow from post 3 under Steven Bahen as the 5/2 second choice, Alda lingered at the rear of the six-horse field. Up front, Illegal Smile duel inside of Road to Romance down the backstretch and through the far turn while posting fractions of :22.20 and :44.74.
Road to Romance gave way at the top of the stretch as Dreaming of Drew tipped off the rail and went after Illegal Smile. Alda initially tried to follow, but Bahen tipped her out near the 1/8 pole in order to keep momentum.
Digging deep, Alda shot from third to first inside the 1/16 pole, nailing the bettors’ choice at the wire by a nose. The Graham Motion trainee completed the 6 1/2-furlong firm outer turf sprint in a final time of 1:14.00.
Credit: Michael Burns Photo
“I had talked to (Motion) this morning and I watched her races yesterday,” Bahen said after his first time riding Alda. “She’s got a real big kick and we discussed that we should just be off the pack; 3 or 4 (lengths) off would be nice. I ended up being a little further back than I wanted to, and she gave me that run she has.”
Illegal Smile weakened late to finish 1 1/4 lengths behind in third. The rest of the strung-out field came across in order as Emmeline, Road to Romance, and Purrsuade Me.
Ostracize was scratched.
Alda’s win was her second straight after breaking her maiden over the Belmont Park outer turf in July and improved her record to 3-2-0-1. The 2-year-old Munnings filly has now earned $88,413.
Alda returned $7.30 to win, $3 to place, and $2.30 to show. Dreaming of Drew brought back $2.40 to place and $2.20 to show, while Illegal Smile paid $2.90 to show.
