Hightstown, NJ — After being limited to one start as a 2-year-old, Woody’s Girl has proved to be a quick learner when it comes to winning this season at 3.
A full sister to three-time Maryland Sire Stakes champion Fancy Like That, the daughter of Rusty’s For Real-Scootin Woody triumphed in both her MSS preliminary rounds the past two weeks at Rosecroft Raceway and heads to Wednesday’s $95,000 final for 3-year-old female pacers as the 2-1 morning-line favorite.
Overall this season, Woody’s Girl has four wins and two seconds in seven races, earning $19,025 for trainer Kasey Bendix, who bred and owns the filly with her aunt Virginia Marvel. Woody’s Girl started only once last year, in late May at Ocean Downs, because of a stress fracture.
“She showed a lot of promise,” Bendix said. “We thought she was going to be a lot like her sister. We turned her out to give her time to mature and hoped she would come back good as a 3-year-old. So far so good. She’s put it all together pretty quickly.”
Equipment changes after Woody’s Girl went off stride in her first qualifier this year seemed to set the filly on her way.
“She wasn’t used to being on the track with a bunch of other horses,” Bendix said. “It was just a matter of getting her to pay attention to what she’s supposed to be doing. We made a few equipment changes and that seemed to make all the difference. Now she seems like she knows what she’s doing. I just don’t think she’s figured out how fast she actually is.”
Fancy Like That, now 4, has won 20 of 47 career races, hit the board an additional 13 times, and earned $232,855 for Bendix and Marvel. She won one Maryland Sire Stakes title at age 2 and swept both the Rosecroft and Ocean Downs finals last season at 3.
Bendix said Woody’s Girl shared similarities with Fancy Like That, but without the off-the-track quirks for which her older sister was known.
“She’s more laidback, not quite as anxious as Fancy,” Bendix said. “She acts like she’s here to do her business, and that’s what she’s going to do.”
Scootin Woody has been a successful broodmare for Bendix and her aunt. They bought Scootin Woody after her 2-year-old campaign in 2015, but a tendon issue forced the filly to retirement after three races at age 3.
In addition to Woody’s Girl and Fancy Like That, her offspring include Rusty’s Rockin, who was a Maryland Sire Stakes final runner-up at age 3 in 2022 at Rosecroft.
“We always thought (Scootin Woody) would have been an open mare,” Bendix said. “She had the speed. When we had to quit with her, we made the decision to breed her and see how it went. It’s been heaven sent. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, I think.”
Woody’s Girl will start her Maryland Sire Stakes final on Wednesday from post four with regular driver Tim Deaton.
Rosecroft, which sees its Spring meet end Sunday, also hosts Maryland Sire Stakes finals for 3-year-old male pacers and sophomore male and female trotters on Wednesday. The event for male trotters is a non-wagering race that will be contested at 6:45 p.m. (EDT). The remaining finals will be part of the regular card, which gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
For free Rosecroft Raceway programs, visit the track’s website here.