Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Trotting Fillies Spotlighted Friday at Woodbine

June 1, 2005

Thirty trotting fillies will compete in three C$75,000 divisions of the Casual Breeze on Friday night at Woodbine Racetrack in Ontario. Among the entrants are Kentucky Sire Stakes champion Centerfold Hall, co-owned by Thoroughbred trainer Nick Zito and his wife Kim, and Pink Ribbons, whose owners are donating 10 percent of the filly’s career earnings to a cancer center in Toledo, Ohio.

Centerfold Hall, trained by Fred Grant for the Zitos’ Lucky Shamrock Stable and Walnut Hall Ltd., won seven of eight races and $76,818 last year. She has had a bumpy road this season and made the first break of her career at the start of an overnight event on May 27 at Woodbine.

"I’m informed that a lot of young trotters, when they go to Woodbine for the first time, struggle a little bit until you get the right combination," Grant said. "Hopefully, that was it. I made some significant changes in her shoeing. She had been coming along real well, but got sick when she came out of Florida and lost about two weeks. She tied up, so I've just been trying to get her ready for the next three weeks, struggling time-wise."

Following this weekend’s Casual Breeze, the elimination races for the C$600,000 Elegantimage will be held on June 10 at Woodbine. Many of the top money-winning filly trotters as two-year-olds, including division champ Solveig, Breeders Crown winner Flirtin Miss, Strong Tea, Twin B Senorita, Elena, and Magenta Hall have been racing in qualifiers but will bypass the Casual Breeze. Solveig, Strong Tea, Elena and Magenta Hall are eligible to the Elegantimage.

The Zitos, of course, are familiar with the vagaries of horse racing. Grant is in regular communication with Kim Zito about Centerfold Hall and Casablanca Hall, a three-year-old trotting colt they also co-own with Walntu Hall Ltd., while her husband is busy riding the Triple Crown trail.

Pink Ribbons will be among the nine horses challenging Centerfold Hall in the second of the three Casual Breeze divisions. Her owners, Nancy Greenfield and June White, are both breast cancer survivors. The duo has pledged 10 percent of Pink Ribbons’ earnings to the Victory Center, where Greenfield was a client during her illness. The Victory Center, which charges no fees and relies solely on donations, provides support groups, education, reflexology and massage to people being treated for any type of cancer.

"There are larger corporations that do a lot of great things for cancer," White said. "But because our monies weren’t going to be huge or grandiose, we wanted to donate funds that would be able to help out a local facility, a smaller entity that might not receive a large portion of money. Essentially, she’s something to hang onto and makes us feel great about being able to give something back to the community in the name of cancer for all of the people that have helped us."

Pink Ribbons has won two of 10 lifetime races, including her only start at Toledo’s Raceway Park on May 13, and earned $25,210. She comes off a second-place finish, beaten half-a-length in 1:57.2, at Scioto Downs.

The second division of the Casual Breeze features Matron winner Ladymatic and Merrie Annabelle runner-up Blur. Both are eligible to the Hambletonian Oaks, as are Pink Ribbons, Centerfold Hall, Lady Power, Vyingforthecrown, Honour Way, Traci Spur, Margarita Nights, Fandango Hall, and Undine Boko.

"Ladymatic came back very good," said trainer Larry Rathbone, who also trains Lady Power. "She had some soundness issues last year, but she’s good right now. I think she’ll be a player in the three-year-old filly ranks. This is a tough order in her first start, but I think it will be a good prep for the following week."

On Saturday, 31 pacing colts will compete in three C$100,000 divisions of the Burlington Stakes at Woodbine, a stepping stone to the C$1.5 million North America Cup on June 18. Provincial Cup winner Leading X Ample and Berry’s Creek victor Four Starz Sisco are among the horses entered in the Burlington. Both are also eligible to the $1 million Meadowlands Pace. Other North America Cup-Meadowlands Pace hopefuls in the Burlington are Runover Feeling, Mr Delite, Michael’s Marvel, Astronomical, I Zee, P Forty Seven, Climb The Ladder, Arties Samartie, Alloveramerica, and He’s A Nice Guy.