Ready for Romance Remains Undefeated with Ontario Damsel Score

Ready for Romance, expertly ridden by Eurico Rosa da Silva, remained undefeated through three starts while making her stakes debut in Saturday’s $125,000 Ontario Damsel Stakes, at Woodbine.

Trained by Malcolm Pierce, the Sam-Son Farms homebred daughter of More Than Ready-Strange Romance arrived at the one-turn mile over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course from a pair of sprint scores on the Woodbine main.

Ready for Romance, leaving from the inside post in a field reduced to six horses following the scratch of Internal Bourbon, set splits of :23.60 and :47.05 with Dixie Twist stalking her early foot. Season Ticket, the 4-5 mutuel favourite, raced along the rail from the back of the pack under Patrick Husbands and advanced through the turn as the pack swarmed the rail-skimming pacesetter.

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Husbands angled Season Ticket to the outside at the top of the lane and appeared primed to take the lead, but a game and determined Ready for Romance battled bravely to the wire to earn a head win. Green Doctor, returning on short rest from a sixth-place effort in last weekend’s Bison City Stakes, stayed on gamely for third. Ready for Romance covered the mile in 1:34.73 over a ‘firm’ turf.

Da Silva was very pleased with the effort of his dark bay filly.

“She’s a very nice horse. Malcolm told me to take it simple and ease her out as best I can,” said da Silva. “She was very relaxed. When we turned for home, I had some horse and when the other horse came (Season Ticket), she’s a nice horse too, but she (Ready for Romance) dug in hard and ran beautifully.”

The win marked the third stakes win at the meet for Sam-Son Farms having previously scored with Checkered Past in the Trillium and with Aldous Snow in the Grade 3 Singspiel Stakes.

“It’s great when you have one that does everything you ask. We’re very excited about her,” said Michael Balaz on behalf of Sam-Son Farms. “It’s lovely when the fillies come out and race like this, especially with our breeding program.”

Ready for Romance banked $90,000 in victory while maintaining a perfect record through three career starts.

She paid $6.50, $3 and $2.50 combining with Season Ticket ($2.50, $2.10) for a $14.10 (1-3) exactor. A 1-3-4 triactor (Green Doctor, $4 to show) was worth $74.70. Easy Indygo was scratched.