Millie Girl came with a sustained drive down the center of the course to nail Angelou at the wire to get the victory in the G3 Ontario Matron Stakes at Woodbine on Saturday, 14 October.
It was the first Graded Stakes victory for the five-year-old Hard Spun mare, who had finished second or third in her previous three starts, the G2 Royal North, G2 Nassau and G3 Seaway Stakes, all at Woodbine. The ever-consistent mare now has four victories and has never been worse than third in nine career starts.
Ridden for the first time by Rafael Hernandez, Millie Girl broke a step awkwardly and was settled at the rear of the field through the early stages of the race. Millie Girl commenced her run three furlongs from home, weaving her way through traffic to put herself within range of the leaders as the field turned for home. Under a drive by Hernandez, Millie Girl continued to close on the outside, eventually reeling in Angelou nearing the wire to win by a head.
Bred in Ontario by Sean Fitzhenry, Millie Girl is out of Mendocino Beano, a Graded Stakes-placed daughter of Smart Strike. In addition to Graded Stakes winner Millie Girl, Mendocino Beano is also the dam of Stakes winners Tone Broke (Broken Vow) and Stallion Heiress (Exchange Rate), and Stakes-placed Conquest Fleetfeet (Afleet Alex).
Millie Girl was the first of two Graded Stakes winners on the Woodbine card for her sire, Hard Spun. Less than 30 minutes later, the mare Spun Glass captured the G3 Ontario Fashion Stakes. Another daughter, Loyalty, who finished third in the Matron, won the G3 Hendrie Stakes in mid-July, while the three-year-old filly, Elysian Field, took the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks that same month.
