Pageant Queen strolls home on debut June 21 at Woodbine (Michael Burns)
Chris Lomon/Woodbine Communications
TORONTO – Windways Farm and Upland Flats Racing filly Pageant Queen takes on eight rivals in Saturday’s $125,000 My Dear Stakes at Woodbine.
Bred in Ontario by Anthony B. Russo and Leslie L. Russo, Pageant Queen heads into the 5 ½-furlong main track event for 2-year-old fillies off an impressive 2 ½-length score over the same ground and distance in her career bow on June 21 at Woodbine.
The chestnut, at 19-1, dueled three-deep at the outset before taking the lead ahead of the half. Passed briefly at the quarter pole, the James Begg trainee rebid in the two-path in early stretch and then pulled away for the milestone victory in 1:05.37.
“We were very happy with the effort,” said Begg. “We believed she would be a nice filly. She had been working in company with another 2-year-old filly of ours, Sipping History, who has just missed out on winning twice so far. We knew that Pageant Queen had it in her.”
Despite the long odds, Begg expected the daughter of Point of Entry out of the Sun King mare Queen Ofthe Dawn to run well in her debut.
“That race was chock-full of horses with nice pedigrees, but I was still pretty surprised at the odds. I thought anywhere from 5-1 to 8-1 would be what I expected. I don’t have any concern with the odds – as long as we are running horses where they belong is the primary concern.
“She is pretty game horse, but she can be a little lazy in her training. We knew that going in. Her recovery from her works was always very fast, leading to the idea that she isn’t really showing us everything she has. I was a little surprised at the early speed she showed in her debut. I told Raffi [jockey, Rafael Hernandez] before the race that she has a tendency to be a little lazy, so don’t be afraid to get aggressive with her early.
“When she broke sharply, I thought she’s either going to keep going or she might tire herself out. When she was still going in front and doing it well, I thought, ‘Okay, this is over.’”
Pageant Queen worked four furlongs in :47.80 over the Woodbine turf training track on July 4 in preparation for her first stakes test.
“Being a Point of Entry, moving forward, we decided to work on the grass,” said Begg, who is off to a strong start in 2025 after posting a career-best 14 wins last year. “It was a nice, easy breeze. I think she should have a solid shot in the My Dear.”
Begg, who won his first stakes race with Greavette in the 2023 edition of the Finest City at Presque Isle Downs, is looking to bring more Ontario-sired horses into the fold.
“I had been buying a lot of U.S. horses, but with Woodbine’s Ontario stakes program, we are looking to fill out roster with Ontario-sired horses. One of the people who bought into Pageant Queen is Upland Flats Racing (nom du course of Patrick Lewis), one of my big U.S. clients, based out of Nashville.
“Patrick’s racing manager is Joe Miller, who is associated with (owner) Tracy Farmer. Joe was also manager for an owner who had horses trained by Roger Attfield – so, he is very familiar with Woodbine. He kind of pushed us to purchase a few yearlings out of the Woodbine sale. He’s been extremely pleased with the program.
“So, those guys are pretty jazzed to double or triple down on the Woodbine this sale this year (the CTHS Ontario Canadian Premier Yearling Sale is slated for August 27 at the Woodbine Sales Pavilion in Toronto) and add some more Ontario horses into the mix.”
Chris Sealy is the groom.
Air Sure won the inaugural edition of the My Dear in 1941. Owned by Conn Smythe, the bay went 11-6-10 from 75 career starts.
First post is 1:05 p.m. The wagering menu for the My Dear includes Rolling Double, Exacta, 0.20 Trifecta, 0.20 Superfecta, .20 Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10), .20 Pick 4 (Races 8-9-10-11) and $1 Swinger.
Fans can watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and bet365.com.
Field for the $125,000 My Dear Stakes – Race 8
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Souper Diva – Sofia Vives – Steven Chircop
2 – Thank You Amy – Huber Villa-Gomez – Ron Potts
3 – Pageant Queen – Fraser Aebly – James Bentley Begg
4 – Border Czar – Rafael Hernandez – Barb Minshall
5 – Pina Colada (S) – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse
6 – Abdul (S) – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
7 – Souper Sporty – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mike De Paulo (cross-entered in Victoria)
8 – Armored Guard – Ryan Munger – Barb Minshall
9 – Sapphire Beach (IRE) – Pietro Moran – Michael Doyle
