Canada’s Turf Festival Concludes with Classy Liz Taylor

A full field of quality fillies and mares will go postward in the Grade 1, $1,500,000 Liz Taylor Stakes, slated for Sunday afternoon as part of Canada’s Turf Festival.

00cencallmoney will send out an Irish-bred, Lever Lass (#9, 5-1) as the favorite. The odds maker must agree Lever Lass is giving “I will breakout soon vibes”. The four-year-old by Sea the Stars has been a very consistent performer all season with quality speed numbers to back up her races. She’s yet to win a Graded Stakes but she’s been knocking on the door. The filly comes into the Taylor off two third place efforts in Grade 3 races. Lass is tactical and could sit a nice trip behind the first flight of runners. She loves winning and the short odds reflect she’s getting back to her most preferred distance.

Cheerful Coroner (#13, 13-1), a daughter of Declaration of War, seeks her ninth career victory in her 15^th start in the Liz Taylor. The four-year-old bay, who has won four races in a row coming into this event, including a big stakes win last time out which earned her a nice 116 speed badge. Kentuckiana feels its right to step her up against top company and its hard to disagree.

Get Inside (#10, 22-1), a three-year-old daughter of War Front, from the Vautour barn, brings some serious credentials into the Taylor. The Kentucky-bred brown filly is a Grade 3 winner. She’s getting better. She handles any surface and any distance. Placed brilliantly as she’s never been worse than third. Knocking around with difficult three-year-olds in Grade 1 events this summer and she’s more than holding her own. Now she’s asked to step up against older and move back to turf which is the surface she is most bred to handle. At 22-1 she’s a must include from a value stand point.

Sporting five wins, three seconds and a third from 15 starts, Shady Dyno (#3, 13-1) has bankrolled $232,013 in career earnings. The four-year-old Bricks and Mortar filly runs for the Chilimac barn and is from a Grade 2 winning mare, Shady Kris. Dyno isn’t as good as mom yet but she has won a stakes race and can handle this distance.

Grade 3 winner Porcupine B (#6, 9-1), a four-year-old daughter of Highland Reel, comes into the race on Sunday in good form. Two starts back she was third in the Scandinavian Distaff and last May 21, the brown  filly from Finbar’s stable was a three-quarter-length winner in the Grade 3 Mezzanotte Stakes, in what was her fifth career score from 13 starts.

Ultra-consistent The Autumn Lady (#2, 11-1), owned by Ddstables, brings a record of five wins and six other placings from thirteen starts. The Austrailian-bred miss prepped for this with a win in Italy which earned a 112 speed figure. In her most impressive race she was a good second in the Grade 3 French Alley while earning a 114 speed badge.

Thezoo brings an Irish bred Galileo filly from New York to Canada for one of the biggest grass events on the calendar. The Atronach (#1, 18-1) a bay filly with ten in the money finishes from 12 turf starts. She’s been a force in the condition allowance ranks at her home base in the Big Apple. The difference today is the class of filly she faces now and whether or not she elevates her game. She comes off a sharp win last time and she’s been prepping and training for a while to give her every chance on raceday.

Slowroll has the feel good story of the 2023 Liz Taylor. Superfly Pride (#4, 11-1), a five-year-old bay mare loves to win. Claiming, starter allowance or straight allowance she wins them all. But against Graded Stakes fillies and mares, certainly she’s reached her peak. Maybe not, she continued her winning ways when she won the Grade 3 Glen is Falling, on August 27 in New York. Credit Slowroll for keeping her fit, happy and well placed. The daughter of Superfly has tactical speed and can be placed anywhere. Her speed figure of 116 from the Glen is Falling is very relevant. Beware.

A mare who returns to the Liz Taylor is Demo Room (#5, 8-1). The daughter of Medaglia D’Oro came into this event last year as the longest shot on the board and nearly won it. Clearly the brown mare loves Canada as she’s been racing here for about 8 months. She went travelling in the summer for Stakes engagements and took a sharp win last time out. Given obviously likes this set up for her and must be confident she can come back and get a bigger prize.

Desimster has kept Guineas Guru (#7, 10-1), a daughter of Galileo very good and against good company for a long time. She must be a joy to own. She gives it all and last time out she flew home fast on dirt to get second. The bay mare from Graded Stakes winning dam Guineas Triomphe is better on turf, a Stakes winner actually. The dam just oozed quality and class and she needs to find some of it if she wants to earn her first Graded placing in the Taylor.  

The Fdllodgec barn is represented by Queen Juner (#12, 8-1), a chestnut daughter of English Channel. Bred in Kentucky, the four-year-old has three wins, five other placings from 12 career starts. She’s winless in her last 5 starts all Stakes or Graded Stakes.  Last time out she was fifth beaten four lengths by Superfly Pride. Three back she ran third in the Sheepherder Beach. She needs to repeat or improve upon that race to be factor this Sunday.

Dubai Bye Bye (#11, 7-1) a four-year-old by All-World-Sire Dubawi from a black-type producing mare Pun For All Ages, excels over 9 panels on turf. The oddsmaker has her the second choice in the market. She won the Saint Ana and has near misses in Grade 1 company over her preferred trip. This weekend Xpansion is training her to finish strongly over ten furlongs. Her form and numbers are strong but she was winning more often earlier in the year.

Confession time. My twenty stables usually send out the horses with Iron in the name. But I don’t own anything like Saint Ironbone (#8, 16-1) and part of me will be rooting this five-year-old mare home strongly. In the spring she lost her three race win streak when she tried Stakes company. While the early Stakes starts didn’t produce much her latest speed mission while going eleven panels netted her a second. If the daughter of Catholic Boy is improving after 35 starts the rest of the fillies and mares might see nothing but her behind. Ksparrow has placed her well to get 15 top two placings in 27 turf starts.

If you listened to the Twitch Stream a few nights ago you may have heard someone say Hello Frank (#14, 8-1). The bay mare was not actually part of the stream or was she. A little foreshadowing perhaps.

Blackskunk’s 7 year-old-mare by Frankel has five turf route wins in her career including a smashing come-from-behind score in the Grade 2 Corridor at 13-1. That win came in 2021 and she was good enough last time out to win the Top La Turf Stakes with a fast 115 figure. She’s not without merit. She drew the far outside and will probably camp at the back of the field.

The 2023 Grade 1 Liz Taylor will put a bow on this year’s Canada Turf Festival.

Bonne Chance!