The Ontario Sire Heritage Series concluded Friday at Woodbine with Strega winning the $100,000 Ashbridges Bay Stakes and Full Screen taking the $100,000 Lake Ontario Stakes.Sent off as the 9-5 second choice. Strega, with leading rider Kazushi Kimura in the irons, broke sharply and was quickly joined on the front end by 22-1 Totally in Charge. The duo matched strides into the first turn, with Strega holding a head advantage in a battle that would last nearly the entire stretch drive, with Strega eventually gaining the upper hand late to record a hard-fought three-quarter length triumph over her game rival.
Trained by Kevin Attard for Lanni Bloodstock LLC, Strega notched her first stakes victory and third win overall from 12 starts. “In the summertime, we kind of threw her against the top 3-year-old fillies, locally,” noted Attard. “Her being an Ontario-sired horse, obviously, she had to step up. She ran really good in the Bison City [second, by a neck to Sister Seagull] and almost hung on to win that. She’s back in Ontario-sired company where she kind of enjoys that, I think, a little bit more.” Attard was impressed by his filly’s determined showing throughout the Ashbridges Bay.