Stars to Shine holds Upperline in Trillium; Just Got In
takes My Dear
by Brisnet.com
A determined Stars to Shine held off a rallying Upperline to win the $97,795
Trillium
Stakes on Sunday’s Queen’s Plate undercard at Woodbine. Stars to Shine,
ridden by Alex Solis and trained by Mark Frostad for The Grange House
Partnership, rushed to the lead through the far turn of the 1 1/8-mile event and
held sway as the trio of Upperline, Smart Penny and Maristar tried and failed to
reel her in.
Euro Platinum led the seven-horse field through moderate fractions, marking a
quarter in :24 3/5 and a half in :49 1/5, with Smart Penny and Stars to Shine
hot on her heels. As the field entered the far turn, Stars to Shine and Rock the
Moon overtook the pacesetter as the rest of the field began their run.
Stars to Shine put away Rock the Moon but needed all of her reserve to stave
off defending champion and even-money favorite Upperline by a nose in a final
time of 1:51 1/5 over the Polytrack. Smart Penny, a half-length in arrears of
Upperline, earned show money by a head over Maristar.
Frostad was impressed with the strong ride from his rider to hold off
Upperline in the late stages of the race.
“He’s sat on her a few times now and he did a great job with her,” the
trainer commented.
Stars to Shine earned $58,560 for the win, her fifth in 11 career outings, to
push her bankroll to $300,105. She paid $6.20, $3.20 and $2.60 as the 2-1 second
choice. Completing the order of finish were Upperline, Smart Penny, Maristar,
Rock the Moon, Dixie Chicken and Euro Platinum.
Stars to Shine earned her first stakes win when taking the Belle Mahone in
late August, and the dark bay Tale of the Cat daughter quickly followed up with
a third in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes. She was a nice fifth in the Grade 1
Spinster Stakes to close out her four-year-old season in October, and improved
her scorecard to 11-5-1-2 with this season-opening score.
The stakes action on Queen’s Plate Day got underway when Debmar Stables’ Just
Got In survived a torrid speed duel with Ju Ju Eyeballs and then had enough left
to stave off a charging Lake Dancer to win the $152,256
My Dear
Stakes.
Just Got In, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Songandaprayer, went postward the
4-5 favorite with Christopher Griffith aboard, but was immediately pressured
from the start by Ju Ju Eyeballs, the 3-1 second choice, as the fillies zipped
through an opening quarter in :21 3/5. They were still going at it turning for
home, after a half in :45, before Just Got In began to draw clear of her
pursuer.
However, Lake Dancer and Luis Contreras mounted a furious rally in deep
stretch to just miss, as Just Got In prevailed by a diminishing neck in a final
time of :59 for five furlongs on the Polytrack. Longshot Evangeline’s Hope
closed stoutly along the rail for third while Ju Ju Eyeballs faded to fourth.
“To be honest, it felt like we were going too fast,” Griffith said. “I was
trying to get my filly to relax and slow down a little bit. But she wouldn’t
have any part of it, so we just had to go on with it. Luckily, she held on. She
was very tired but she kept fighting right to the wire.”
“Her first race was like a breeze. She never got a test. She won by herself
in hand,” said the jockey’s brother, trainer Ricky Griffith. “We had a little
setback with her this week. And we were kind of on the fence whether we were
going to make it (run in the My Dear) or not. But things worked out. She’s got
some class.”
Just Got In paid $3.70, $2.60 and $2.40 for taking her stakes debut. Lake
Dancer had a half-length to spare over Evangeline’s Hope, with Ju Ju Eyeballs
another three parts of a length bcak in fourth. Shi Shi Foo Foo came next and
was followed under the wire by Aberfoyle Mill and Rutherford Rd.
Just Got In made her racing debut on May 26, easily scoring that day by 7 1/2
lengths. The bay juvenile miss is now two-for-two in her career and has banked
$120,427.
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