by Jeff Renton, media/communications, the Woodbine Entertainment Group

Toronto, ON — Secret Deal and Art’s Risk kicked home strongly in Woodbine’s pair of C$15,000 opening leg divisions of the Whenuwishuponastar Series for two-year-old pacing fillies on Thursday evening.

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Secret Deal and Rick Zeron were victorious in their Whenuwishuponastar split.

Showing a couple of moves in her mile, Secret Deal ($2.60, $2.10, $2.10) finished with a :26³ final quarter to win by a half length in 1:55³ in the night’s opening division.

With her trainer Rick Zeron at her lines, Secret Deal (Cam’s Card Shark–Secretariat) got away third after starting from the eight hole. Not liking the slow early tempo, driver Steve Condren and Belovedangel (Artsplace–Docomo) came calling from the pocket early and passed the quarter pole in :29³. Zeron advanced from third in the backstretch and was up alongside Belovedangel as the half-mile time flashed in 1:00¹.

As Secret Deal cleared to the lead, Chris Christoforou and Beryl Seelster (Jate Lobell–Banshee Hanover) came calling from fifth. Battling past the 1:28⁴ three-quarter pole and well into the stretch, Beryl Seelster ($2.50) was up on Secret Hanover for a moment before Zeron rallied his student and pulled away for the victory. Tipped three-wide in the stretch, Belovedangel ($2.60, $2.10) closed strongly to finish second, while Beryl Seelster finished four lengths back in third.

The top three favourites came home in order and produced a $5.10 exactor and a $13.50 exactor.

Peter Congilose’s Secret Deal, who lowered her mark with the performance, is now perfect in her two starts this year and has banked $11,325.

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Art’s Risk and Steve Condren close on the outside to nip Digga Digga and Mike Saftic.

Steve Condren and Art’s Risk ($6.80, $2.70, $2,70) needed every inch of the stretch but got the job done in exciting fashion during the second split, as they closed with authority to notch a nose tally in 1:55¹.

Digga Digga (Pacific Fella–Beh Shert) and driver Mike Saftic went to the lead early and pulled the field through :28³ and :59² opening fractions. With Art’s Risk (Artsplace–Delinquent Account) sitting in the two hole, Pembroke White Out (Northern Luck–Winterwood) and driver Phil Hudon attacked from fourth just past the half-mile marker. It was a front-end war from that point until the head of the lane, one which saw the three-quarter time flash in 1:28. After putting in a few steps, Art’s Risk and Condren closed hard in the lane and just barely got up on Digga Digga in the win photo. Digga Digga ($2.40, $2.10) completed the $17.00 exactor and La Dolce Hall (Cambest–Lady Is A Pro), who finished three lengths in arrears, returned $3.40 to show and was the final piece to the $32.70 triactor.

Bob McIntosh conditions Art’s Risk for Kentucky’s Brittany Farms and Illinois’ Brian Monieson Revtrust. The bay filly is now unbeaten in her two lifetime starts after her mark lowering mile and has $7,525 in earnings.

The C$15,000 second leg of the Whenuwishuponastar Series is scheduled for next Thursday, August 5, while the C$52,000 (est.) final will be raced on Thursday, August 12.

Will Trophy Hall hoist one after the CBC?

After putting in a 1:55⁴ life’s best mile at odds of 18-1 last week, it sure would come as a surprise if Don LeBlanc student Trophy Hall doesn’t receive more attention at the windows this Saturday at Woodbine.

The bay Angus Hall–Trophy Bass filly has drawn the rail for the evening’s seventh race, the C$112,700 final of the Canadian Breeders Championship’s three-year-old filly trot division.

According to LeBlanc, Trophy Hall is one serious customer.

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Trophy Hall and Luc Ouellette were triumphant in last week’s CBC eliminations.

“She’s more like a stud and is one big mare,” said the Moncton, New Brunswick native. “She’s very temperamental and doesn’t like training. We hardly train her between heats. She has a bit of an attitude problem, it’s usually best to leave her alone. She’s definitely not a kid’s toy.”

Winless in her pair of starts at two and in her first five of this campaign before last week, the Crimson Lane-bred who is owned by Burlington, Ontario’s WDM Stables looks like she is rounding into form at the right time.

“We bought her last year from Chris Beaver and the same people who had Lookslikeatrooper (who LeBlanc also trains),” explained the 56-year-old. “So we decided to go back to the well.

“We bought her after 2:03³ qualifier (on July, 5, 2003), right after the race actually. She had made some breaks and we removed a chip from her. We turned her out until around November and the rest is history. She trained well all winter. She hit some bumps along the way and was sick a couple of times. But she surprised the heck out of us (in her CBC elim). I didn’t think she could go (1):55.”

Trophy Hall has looked like a different filly in July. Before the calendar flipped to the seventh month, she had finished out of the money in both an O.S.S. Gold Final and a division of the Casual Breeze at Mohawk. In her last three trips she has shown a knack for the front-end and a willingness to battle in the late stages.

“Trevor (driver Trevor Ritchie) qualified her after she made a break in the Casual Breeze,” said LeBlanc, who cites A Go Go Lauxmont’s 1:54³ time trial clocking in 1988 at Lexington as his claim to fame. “We put the trotting hopples on her in that qualifier and she made off the gate. I clocked her from the quarter-pole onward and she came home in 1:25. I knew she had some speed and ability and was capable.”

After successfully re-qualifying on July 2, Trophy Hall and Ritchie put in a 1:58⁴ mile on July 8 at Woodbine in which they were just beat a neck.

“When she got beat by a neck she was sick,” said LeBlanc, who is currently training five at Carlisle, Ontario’s Baycairn Training Center. “After her qualifier (six days earlier on July 2) we had taken some blood and her white count was high, which indicated she had probably caught a bit of a virus.”

Trophy Hall showed no indication of a virus last week though, as she popped the pocket early and recorded the last three fractions in the quicker of the night’s two eliminations.

Paul MacDonell will be at Trophy Hall’s lines Saturday and the pair have been measured as a 9-2 fourth choice in the morning line.

“She can leave,” LeBlanc said of Trophy Hall when asked about how he felt on leaving from the rail position.

“She trained great today,” LeBlanc said Thursday. “She’s definitely learning the game.”

The complete field for the Three-Year-Old Filly Trot is as follows:

PP – Horse – Driver – Trainer – Line
1 – Trophy Hall – P. MacDonell – D. LeBlanc – 9-2
2 – Summerhill Hallie – D. Boughton – R. O’Neill – 30-1
3 – Icy Pleasure – M. Saftic – C. Norris – 8-1
4 – McCall Magic – S. Condren – Dr. J. Hayes – 6-5
5 – Bliss – L. Ouellette – P. Buer – 7-2
6 – Incredible Iam – Ph. Hudon – K. Davidson – 25-1
7 – Sno Doubt About It – Ra. Waples – W. Bloomfield – 30-1
8 – Northern Fuchsia – R. Mayotte – R. Mayotte – 30-1
9 – Ifhallscouldtalk – C. Christoforou – R. Laarman – 4-1