Golden Stripe, who put an end to Preservata’s seven-race win streak in the July 1 Canada Day at Assiniboia Downs, will be looking to duplicate that dominance in Sunday’s $30,000 Winnipeg Sun.
Preservata was the defending champion in the Canada Day and also captured last year’s Winnipeg Sun, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.
Sunday’s program, which begins at 1:15 p.m. Central, also features an interesting undercard which includes a $6,000 claiming race at three furlongs and a starter allowance for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles.
The focus will be on the Winnipeg Sun, however, as Golden Stripe and Preservata meet for the third time.
Preservata took the first round, defeating Golden Stripe by a neck in the six-furlong La Verendrye on June 12 with her regular rider Tyrone Nelson in the irons.
Golden Stripe turned the tables with a front-running effort in the one-mile Canada Day, as she turned back Preservata’s challenge to score by 1 3/4 lengths under rider Gary Baze.
That victory was the third in 11 starts for Golden Stripe, a Manitoba-bred 4-year-old who races for her owner and breeder Phil Kives.
Golden Stripe won Assiniboia’s restricted R.C. Anderson over one mile last summer but did not fare well in open company.
After running well in two of three starts at Prairie Meadows this spring, however, Golden Stripe has returned a new and improved runner.
Preservata, a Florida-bred 5-year-old who is owned and trained by Clint Willson, suffered her first local defeat in her ninth Assiniboia appearance in the Canada Day.
Both Golden Stripe and Preservata carry 123 pounds, as they did in the Canada Day, and both have prepped sharply since that meeting.
If there is an upset in the making then the perpetrator could be Enchanting, who ships in from Canterbury Downs for owner/trainer Charles Smith.
Enchanting, an Oklahoma-bred 4-year-old, has been running well on the turf in Minnesota and Smith has enjoyed much success with his invaders at Assiniboia over the past few years. Rohan Singh, Smith’s go-to rider at Assiniboia, has the mount. ##
