Jeff Renton, media/communications, the Woodbine Entertainment Group

Campbellville, May 17, 2004… Steering clear of the chaos in the first turn, Respectednbeloved and reinsman Steve Condren wore down Armbro Berlin in deep stretch to capture the C$95,500 final of the Princess Series in 1:52.3 Monday evening at Mohawk.

As part of a two-horse entry that had emerged from trainer Joe Stutzman’s operation, Respectednbeloved bettered nine other sophomore pacing fillies and extended her winning streak to five in the process.

WEG photo.

Respectednbeloved extended her winning streak to five in the Princess Series Final at Mohawk.

With Keith Oliver at her lines, Armbro Berlin finished second, while Shes My Belle and driver Chris Christoforou rounded out the top three.

Whitesand Jewel (Mario Baillargeon) finished fourth and Shesaporsche, the other half of the entry who was handled by Trevor Ritchie, finished fifth.

After a victory in the opening leg in 1:54.1, Respectednbeloved, a daughter of Dream Away—Armbro Penelope, found herself in a new barn when the big dough was on the line.

Having left the equally-hot training compound of conditioner Brett Robinson after her triumphant preliminary test, the Armstrong Bros-bred missed the second led and subsequently drew post eight for the final.

With Lyons Mandi making a break off of the gate, Respectednbeloved found herself in sixth by the time Armbro Bracken passed the quarter-mile pole in 27 seconds. It was in the vicinity of that marker that three of the contestants went off stride (Wilma Hall, Swirly and eventually Armbro Bracken), disrupting the flow and placing Armbro Berlin and Oliver on the engine.

Gapped 6½-lengths back in third as Oliver met the half-mile indicator in 56 seconds, Condren and Respectednbeloved began to chip away. Picking up steam while racing uncovered in the two-wide path, Condren and his game mount found themselves 4¼-lengths behind Armbro Berlin as she rang up the third call in 1:24.

Fast forward to the stretch drive and it was a two-horse match race to the wire.

With momentum on her side at the head of the lane, Respectednbeloved, who is owned by Milton, Ontario’s Canamerica Capital Corporation and Hyatt Holdings Inc., began to erase her 1¾-length disadvantage.

After tussling in the late stages in a flash of green and gold, Condren overtook Oliver by a half-length in the mark-lowering mile.

“They added some equipment to her tonight which made all the difference in the world because the way the race was going I had to check her three or four different times,” said Condren afterwards. “I felt like I was in the Indianapolis 500 because everybody was crashing for the first half of the race.

“She was a lot better tonight. She showed a little lack of conditioning coming down the stretch because she has only raced a couple of times in the last six weeks, but she is a good filly and she got the job done.”

After only a single start as a two-year-old, Respectednbeloved now has five wins in six trips as a three-year-old.

Respectednbeloved ($6.30, $3.30, $2.50) was atop a $27.90 exactor with Armbro Berlin ($3.80, $3.00). Shes My Belle ($9.60), who finished 6½-lengths back, was last on the $425.40 triactor ticket.

The score was Condren’s fourth victory in 2004 stakes finals on the WEG circuit and the third time that has come with a Stutzman-trained horse (Miss Vera Bars, Shesaporsche; Spring Pacing Championship, Wolfdancer Mindale).

“We have got her well-staked for the rest of the summer,” said Albert Imbrogno, who makes up one half of the Canamerica Capital Corporation. “But for right now she is going to get a bit of a break.”