Dancing Duchess spurts clear a winner of the Alywow (Michael Burns)
Chris Lomon/Woodbine Communications
TORONTO – Dancing Duchess, sent off as the 7-5 choice, earned her second career stakes victory after taking Saturday’s $100,000 Alywow at Woodbine.
Trained by Mark Casse for owner Tracy Farmer, Dancing Duchess, who won last year’s Algonquin Stakes over the Woodbine inner turf, added another Toronto oval grass triumph to her resume after an impressive display, this time at 6 ½ furlongs over the E.P. Taylor course.
Under Sahin Civaci, the daughter of Munnings broke sharply, but yielded the lead to stablemate Karaya, with the latter taking her five rivals through an opening quarter in :23.78.
Dancing Duchess was a head in front of Karaya after a half in :47.20 and then extended her advantage straightening for home.
Confronted by another stablemate, Creed’s Gold, and a spirited outside bid from Uphill Dance, Dancing Duchess was able to turn back her rivals as the rain intensified and went on to secure a 1 ½-length score in a time of 1:16.45 over a “good” turf.
Uphill Dance finished second, a half-length in front of Creed’s Gold, who was a nose ahead of Zo Lee. Stormcast, another Casse pupil, was scratched.
Dancing Duchess arrived at the Alywow off a fourth in a five-furlong sprint over the Woodbine inner turf on May 18.
“Last time, just unfortunate,” said Civaci. “We had the outside draw and got hung out wide. And that’s what cost us the race. Today was a better position. She was speedy out of the gate, and it was easy fractions. So, I was happy up there, and the pace was going easy, and when I asked her, she kicked off.”
Bred in Ontario by Mitchell Kursner, Dancing Duchess ($4.90) is now 3-2-1 from nine starts. She broke her maiden in her second start, a half-length win at five furlongs over the Woodbine main track last June.
Farmer purchased the dark bay for $400,000 at the 2022 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale.
It was the fifth Alywow crown for Casse.
