Sunday, Woodbine
ONTARIO MATRON S.-GIII, $151,072, WOX, 7-22, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m (AWT), 1:45, ft.
1--@STARS TO SHINE, 121, m, 5, by Tale of the Cat
        1st Dam: Gaily Lady, by Silver Hawk
        2nd Dam: Gaily Gaily (Ire), by Cure the Blues
        3rd Dam: Gayshuka, by Lord Gayle
($45,000 wlng '07 KEENOV; 26,000gns RNA yrl '08 TATOCT). O-The Grange House Partnership; B-Tomoko Uenaka (KY); T-Mark R Frostad; J-Alex O Solis; $88,866. Lifetime Record: 12-6-1-2, $388,971. Werk Nick Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.


2--Hooh Why, 119, m, 6, Cloud Hopping--Magic Merger, by Corporate Report. ($325,000 RNA HRA '11 KEENOV). O-Mark Hoffman and Earl J Trostrud Jr; B-Gail Gee (FL); T-Mark Hoffman; $29,622.
3--Ariana D, 117, m, 6, Rock Slide--Derby Tie, by Black Tie Affair (Ire). O/B-William B Thompson (PA); T-Laurie Silvera; $14,811.
Margins: 1, NK, 2 3/4. Odds: 1.20, 3.10, 5.50.
Also Ran: Bear It's Time, Rock the Moon, Ima Soul Miss, Maristar, Rashnaa, Smart Penny (non-starter). Click for the brisnet.com chart or the brisnet.com PPs. Video, sponsored by Taylor Made Sales.
   There were some tense moments, but race favorite Stars to Shine ultimately prevailed to score her second straight graded victory here and up her record over the Woodbine Polytrack to four-for-four. The dark bay spent much of her early career on the local lawn, but earned a first black-type victory in the track-and-trip Belle Mahone S. here 11 months ago. She returned to the sod to finish a solid third behind Grade I winners Never Retreat (Smart Strike) and Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul {Ire})--and ahead four other Grade I winners--in the GII Canadian S. in September before finishing off 2011 with a fifth in Keeneland's GI Spinster S. in October. Stars to Shine returned in the Trillium S. going a sixteenth farther here June 24, and got her nose in front of favorite and defending champ Upperline (Maria's Mon), with Smart Penny (Smart Strike), Maristar (Giant's Causeway) and Rock the Moon (Malibu Moon) third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Away alertly and traveling well from the pocket as Hooh Why dictated terms, pilot Alex Solis attempted to guide Stars to Shine up the rail and inside the pacesetter on the home turn, but she appeared to spook and bounced off the rail. Hooh Why looked in midstretch like she might benefit from the favorite's misstep as she scooted away, but Stars to Shine regained her composure and flew home to grab command in the late stages. "I was trying to save as much ground as I could, and wait as long as I could," explained Solis. "Unfortunately, [Hooh Why] stayed out, and when I tried to get through she came in and squeezed me a little bit. That's racing." Smart Penny was declared a non-starter after a disastrous beginning.