Sweet Passions delivers in the Thunder Bay (Michael Burns)
Chris Lomon/Woodbine Communications
TORONTO – The Ontario Sired Heritage Series continued Sunday afternoon at Woodbine with Sweet Passions delivering an emotional score in the $100,000 Thunder Bay Stakes.
The six-furlong E.P. Taylor turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies is part of an eight-leg stakes series open to Ontario sired 3-year-olds.
Rhaenyra, the 3-1 second choice, sped to the front, but was confronted quickly by Suigu Belle, who shadowed the pacesetter just to her outside through a quick :22.02 first quarter. Sweet Passions, under Ryan Munger, was away a step slowly and sat seventh of eight in the early running.
It was still Rhaenyra calling the shots through a half in :44.49, while Sweet Passions, who has contended with a wealth of traffic troubles over her career, was once again left looking for an opening to track down the frontrunners.
Mid-way down the lane, Sweet Passions was full of run, but found herself behind a wall of rivals, as Munger eyed a seam to push through. With less than 50 yards to go, the duo finally found daylight and charged through to eke out a neck triumph. Brengungirl, the 7-5 choice, was second, a head in front of Rhaenyra, who in turn bested late-charging longshot Silent Strike by a head.
The final time was 1:09.69 over firm ground.
It was the first stakes win for trainer Rick Hayashi, the former assistant to conditioner Paul Buttigieg. A longtime owner, breeder and trainer, Buttigieg passed away this May.
“This one was for him,” said Hayashi. “He meant a lot [to me]. This horse has a lot of heart.”
Munger, who was able to orchestrate the dramatic score, wasn’t surprised to find himself looking for daylight in the late going.
“She shows a lot of courage,” said Munger, of the filly who was making her first stakes appearance. “Her running style – you do end up in those predicaments as she can’t go with the pace. When the pace starts stopping, she finds her feet. I had a nice split up the lane. I was going through nicely. When the horses do get tired, they do try to naturally gather together, but she dug down doggedly and she won a very good race.
“She wasn’t standing all that great in the gate,” continued Munger. “But she comes from off the speed anyway, so I wasn’t too stressed out about that. Even if she broke from the gate well, she probably would have ended up in the same position. So, I left her alone where she was comfortable. There was a lot of speed in the race and that’s how it played out.”
Bred by Paul Buttigieg, the daughter of Passion for Action out of the Philanthropist mare Sweet Super Six is now 3-2-1 from 11 starts.
Sweet Passions broke her maiden in her fourth start, a head victory at seven furlongs over the Woodbine main track on September 28, 2024.
She paid $16.50 for Sunday’s win.
Established in 2021, the Ontario Sired Heritage Series is comprised of three $100,000 legs and a $100,000 final for two divisions: 3-year-old colts & geldings, and 3-year-old fillies. The total purse structure for the series is $800,000.
There is a total of $70,000 in bonus money for the Heritage Series, $35,000 for each division (awarded $20,000, $10,000, $5,000) for the top three point-earning colts/geldings and fillies).
All three legs and the final are contested over different distances and surfaces: the Woodbine inner turf, the Woodbine E.P. Taylor turf, the Woodbine main track, and Fort Erie dirt track.
