TORONTO, August 24 – Sam-Son Farm’s multiple stakes placed filly Mythical Mission will be looking to break through for a big win in this weekend’s $125,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Gr. 3) on Sunday, Aug. 27 at Woodbine Racetrack. Trained by Malcolm Pierce, Mythical Mission has hit the board in all five of her stakes starts, including the Princess Elizabeth Stakes late last year and this season’s Fury Stakes and Canadian Triple Tiara legs. Following runner-up finishes in the Woodbine Oaks won by Holy Helena and Bison City Stakes won by Enstone, she enters the Ontario Colleen off a third-place finish over 1-1/4 miles on the turf in the Wonder Where that was contested on July 30. This weekend’s Ontario Colleen will see her return to the turf for a one-mile test, with rival Enstone also in mix after being supplemented by her connections for $2,500. “That last couple of races we’ve been trying to chase Enstone because we know she has speed and we didn’t want her to get too far in front of us, but I think going a mile she’ll be a little farther back and hopefully make one run and not worry about the speed and kind of get back to where we were last year as far as just letting her run her race,” said Pierce. “Her best way is just to sit back like she did last year as a two-year-old and make a big run at the end. “A mile is probably a little bit short for her, but there’s not too many turf opportunities for three-year-old fillies left at Woodbine this year so we’re going to give it a try and hopefully she can get up going a mile.” In addition to her consistent run in stakes action, Mythical Mission boasts two career wins and has banked over $228,000 in purse earnings from her seven starts. “She’s a nice filly from a good family,” said Pierce of the Giants Causeway-Misty Mission filly, who is a full sister to two-time Sovereign Award winner Irish Mission, the 2012 Champion Grass Mare and Champion Three-Year-Old Filly. “She won her first two starts of her life and obviously our big goal was to try to get her to the Oaks this year, but unfortunately we came up a little bit short to the Stronach filly Holy Helena. Actually, I thought at about the eighth pole we were going to win the race, but we ended up second. She’s never been worse than third in any of her races, so she tries hard in every race.” With regular jockey Eurico Rosa Da Silva racing overseas this weekend, Pierce has secured the services of a very capable replacement in Emma-Jayne Wilson to ride Mythical Mission for the Ontario Colleen Stakes. Wilson previously rode the 2009 Ontario Colleen Stakes winner Lady Shakespeare for trainer Roger Attfield. Pierce, a three-time winner of the race, last won the Ontario Colleen in 2015 with Don’t Leave Me. In addition to East West Stables’ Enstone, Woodbine’s leading trainer Mark Casse will send out Live Oak Plantation’s turf specialist Victory to Victory, who bested 13 other fillies in the one-mile Grade 1 Natalma Stakes last year at Woodbine. Another Grade 1 stakes winner, Yellow Agate is shipping in from Saratoga to make her fifth career start in the Ontario Colleen for trainer Christophe Clement and China Horse International Ltd. The Gemologist-Lemon Sorbet filly won the Frizette (Gr. 1) Stakes last October at Belmont Park and will switch to the turf following a fourth-place finish in her sophomore debut on June 17 in the Alma North Stakes at Laurel Park. Here is a look at the complete field for the $125,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Gr. 3), which is scheduled as the eighth race on Sunday’s 1 p.m. program: $125,000 Ontario Colleen Stakes (Gr. 3)Post – Horse – Driver – Trainer 1. Reverse – Jerome Lermyte – Ricky Griffith2. R Naja – Jesse Campbell – Michael Stidham3. Victory to Victory – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse4. Mythical Mission – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Malcolm Pierce5. Enstone – Husbands – Mark Casse6. Grizzel – David Moran – Michael Doyle7. Valentine Wish – Alan Garcia – Victoria Oliver8. Super Marina – Boulanger – George Weaver9. Yellow Agate – Luis Contreras – Christophe Clement Share This:Share
