Among the anticipated Fall Four match-ups on Saturday night at Woodbine, one that whet everyone’s appetite was the C$531,880 Three Diamonds where elimination winners Darlins Delight and Little Miss K were to meet for the first time. The former, the queen of the New York Sires Stakes program, while the latter had clobbered her rivals in the rich She’s A Great Lady Stakes just over a month ago at Mohawk.

And disappoint, they didn’t.

Clive Cohen photo

Darlins Delight, a daughter of first crop sire Bettors Delight, is now nine-for-11 on the season.

After a sharp second quarter move from fourth to first, Darlins Delight, in rein to Yannick Gingras, had the lead for less than an eighth of a mile when Little Miss K came calling. Rather than battle, Gingras smartly elected to release Little Miss K (Eric Ledford) as the pair opened up on the rest of the field. After the three-quarters in 1:25.4, the race was on. However, no sooner had they hit the straightaway when Darlins Delight powered up on the outside and sprinted away to a decisive five-length decision in 1:55.4. It was four more lengths back to Knock Yourself Out in third.

“She’s a great horse, I’m just glad to drive her,” said Gingras, who added that the Three Diamonds was the biggest win of his burgeoning career. “[Trainer] Jeff [Stafford] has done a tremendous job with her.”

Asked about his decision to let Little Miss K take over the lead in the backstretch, Gingras said it was simply a matter of not getting into a speed duel.

“I thought there were two horses in the race and there was no sense battling,” Gingras explained. “I took her for a piece and then turned her loose.”