There was no touching Wish Away on Thursday at Woodbine Racetrack, as the homebred daughter of Real Artist-Shes Beachy showed no mercy to seven foes in the $60,000 final of the Miss Vera Bars Stakes
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Bred, owned and trained by Jeff Gillis of Hillsburgh, ON, Wish Away settled into fifth for driver Jody Jamieson when the starting gate sped away while Rockabye Babe and race favourite Tea Party Princess battled to the quarter pole in :27.2 before the latter marched to the top. Tea Party Princess, though locked on a line, rolled by the mid-way point in a :57-second clip before being confronted and then overtaken by Wish Away.
Jamieson put the pedal to the metal going into the final turn with Wish Away, and the pair began to open up on the competition at the three-quarter pole in 1:25.3. A :29.4 final frame was more than enough for Wish Away to drive off to the 3-1/2 length decision over Tea Party Princess in a time of 1:55.2. Cheap N Easy rounded out the top three finishers.
Wish Away improved her 2011 record to 2-1-2 in five tries with the winning effort, and the three-time winner pushed her lifetime earnings to $80,130 in the process.
To view Thursday’s results, click here.