Fashionably Fab and jockey Patrick Husbands winning the Ashbriges Bay Stakes on November 10, 2023, at Woodbine (Michael Burns Photo)
Chris Lomon, Woodbine Communications / @WoodbineComms
TORONTO, Ont. – Kevin Attard trainees Fashionably Fab and Strega will look to add another stakes score to their respective racing resumes in Saturday’s $100,000 La Prevoyante, at Woodbine.
Fashionably Fab, a 3-year-old homebred for Terra Racing, arrives at her latest engagement, a 1 1/16-mile test for Ontario-sired fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, riding a three-race (all stakes) win streak.
The daughter of Silent Name (JPN)-Flashy’s Legacy took the Rondeau Bay on September 12th, the Eternal Search on October 22nd, and the Ashbridges Bay on November 10th.
“She has really come into her own,” praised Attard. “Her last three races have obviously been great performances. She showed her grit in winning both the Rondeau Bay and Eternal Search by a nose, and she did it over two different surfaces (dirt at Fort Erie, turf at Woodbine). I think those efforts speak to her competitiveness and talent.”
The dark bay filly dominated in the Ashbridges Bay, crossing the wire a 6 ½-length winner in the 1 1/16-mile Tapeta race.
Attard, closing in on 750 career wins, was understandably thrilled with the result.
“We were expecting her to run well in the Ashbridges Bay, but she really took it up a notch in that one. The way she drew off was great to watch, just how she shifted into another gear.”
Fashionably Fab debuted with a third-place finish in September 2022 and then won three-straight races, punctuated by a victory in the six-furlong Shady Well Stakes that December.
She is 6-0-2 from 10 starts.
Beresford Lee is the groom.
Strega, a 4-year-old daughter of Silent Name (JPN)-Set to Dance, will get her second shot at winning the La Prevoyante after finishing third in last year’s running.
Owned by Lanni Bloodstock LLC, the bay is 4-3-4 from 16 career starts, and heads into the race off an uncharacteristic ninth in the Eternal Search, a seven-furlong test over the Woodbine inner turf on October 22nd.
“It was a tough one last time out for her, but if you look at her form, she always rebounds well if she’s had the odd off-key performance,” said Attard, of the $10,000 (U.S.) purchase at the 2020 Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale.
Bred by WinStar Farm, LLC, Strega finished seventh in her August 2021 debut.
After a pair of seconds, a third, and a fifth, she broke her maiden in the final start of her 2-year-old campaign, a 6 ¾-length romp at 1 1/16 miles on November 20th. She followed that up with a win to launch her 3-year-old season on March 27, 2022.
Strega lost a heartbreaker in the 2022 Bison City Stakes, second jewel in the Canadian Triple Tiara, finishing second by a neck to Sister Seagull in the 1 1/16-mile race.
“She has shown she is more than capable of coming up big against talented fillies,” said Attard, of last year’s Ashbridges Bay winner. “And she is coming into the race in great shape.”
Attard is anticipating a strong effort on Saturday.
“The distance is right in her wheelhouse, and she is at her best on the Tapeta, so we’re looking forward to seeing this filly show up with a big performance.”
Attard won the 2007 edition of the La Prevoyante with Siwa, a multiple stakes-winning daughter of Alydeed for the late Steve Stavro.
Salim Mohammed is the groom.
My Girl Sky, Talk to Ya Later, and Tito’s Calling are the other hopefuls.
Bred in Canada by Jean-Louis Levesque, La Prevoyante was a champion in her home country as well as the United States. Undefeated in 12 starts as a juvenile in 1972, La Prevoyante won the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, as well as the corresponding Sovereign Award that year, and was also voted Canadian Horse of the Year.
La Prevoyante’s career record of 25-5-3 from 39 starts and earnings of $572,417 led her to be inducted as part of the inaugural Canadian Hall of Fame class in 1976. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 1995.
First post for Saturday’s card is 1:05 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com, bet365, and the Dark Horse Bets app.
Field for the La Prevoyante
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Tito’s Calling – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mike De Paulo
2 – Fashionably Fab – Patrick Husbands – Kevin Attard
3 – Talk to Ya Later – Ryan Munger – Ian Black
4 – My Girl Sky – Sahin Civaci – Katerina Vassilieva
5 – Strega – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard
