by Phil McSween for Woodbine
This story originally appeared here.
Ontario-bred Shifty continued her outstanding run of form, capturing her third race in succession, while earning her first graded win in the Grade 3 $150,000 HPIBet Royal North Stakes Saturday at Woodbine.
Ridden by Rafael Hernandez, the 4-year-old bay daughter of Medaglia D’Oro broke sharply from post position 4 and settled in second, behind stablemate without Cause, through an opening quarter-mile in :22.84.
The compact field of 11 fillies, 4-years old and up raced evenly in the 7 1/2 inner turf sprint, through an opening half mile in :46.67 as Without Cause continued to lead.
Into the turn, Pondering loomed, but it was Shifty, true to her name, who found another gear inside the 1/8th pole, taking over the lead from Without Cause, though an opening 6-furlongs in 1:10.76.
With Pondering fading, Shifty, trained by Mark Casse was kept to task by Hernandez crossing the wire on top by a diminishing 3/4s of a length to fast closing Kentucky-invader Fantastical.
The final time was 1:29.08.
Bred in Ontario by Anderson Farms Ontario, Inc, Shifty, out of Elusive Luci (by Elusive Quality), arrived in the Royal North off a pair of authoritative main track sprint wins vs allowance option claiming company.
She broke her maiden on Woodbine’s E.P. Taylor Turf Course, in her second career start winning the 6 and 1/2 furlong Catch A Glimpse Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths with Sahin Civaci up.
“Any surface is good, you know,” said Hernandez afterward. “You see the huge kick down the lane I just felt right away.”
As a 3-year-old, Shifty contested all three legs of the Triple Tiara, finishing second in the Oaks and Bison City Stakes, and later third in the final leg, the Wonder Where Stakes.
Purchased for $350,000 at the Fasig-Tipton 2023 fall sale, the D.J. Stable owned-bay filly improved to 5-3-4 from 15 starts.
Shifty went postward at her morning line odds of 4-1 and paid $10.00 for the win.
Fantastical was second with another Casse duo, 35-1 shot Bessie Abbot (IRE) and pacesetter Without Cause rounding out the superfecta. The Royal North win was Casse’s third in the last four runnings and sixth overall.
