She’s the Berries by a Nose in the Classy ‘n Smart

TORONTO, ON – After coming up just a neck short in her prior two stakes engagements, She’s the Berries got up in time to nab the victory in Sunday’s $100,000 Classy ‘n Smart Stakes at Woodbine, defeating the streaking Red Cabernet.

Fresh off back-to-back stakes wins last month in the Eternal Search and OLG Algoma over the same 1 1/16-mile distance, Red Cabernet stalked pacesetter Crumlin Queen outside in second place through opening fractions of :24.70 and :49.61.

As they raced past 3/4 in 1:14.27, Red Cabernet struck the front while the Mark Casse-trained She’s the Berries launched her bid from the backfield under Eurico Rosa Da Silva. Fanning widest of all coming off the final turn, She’s the Berries unleashed her patented late kick and nosed out Red Cabernet at the finish line in 1:44.16.

Defending champion Bear Paw, coming off an Algoma runner-up finish, edged out March of Dreams 1 3/4 lengths behind in third. She’s Got Fire and Crumlin Queen rounded out the order of finish.

“The first turn was a little slow, but the pace started to pick up,” said Da Silva of his winning trip on the main track. “She’s just a nice horse. She loves to wait and make a good run on them. When she runs, she runs really hard.”

She’s the Berries was the bettors’ choice at 4/5 odds and paid $3.60 to win following a pair of narrow losses in the aforementioned Eternal Search over turf and early September Belle Mahone Stakes on the Tapeta.

“She tries hard every time,” said assistant trainer Kathryn Sullivan. “She really is out there running her eyeballs out and she really deserved this one, I thought.

“I think she’ll run on anything you put her on. She’s just got a lot of heart and she’s just a racehorse.”

She’s the Berries was also a winner while making her 4-year-old season’s debut in May and now has two wins from five starts on the year.

Lifetime, the Badge of Silver-Just Like Daddy filly has won one-third of her 18 races, including last year’s La Prevoyante Stakes, while earning nearly $330,000 in purses for owner/breeder Brereton C. Jones.

The win was one of four through the first eight races on the card for Da Silva.