Drawn Impression romps
At 0h39, on September 1, 2024 • By Ray Cotolo, Woodbine Communications
Drawn Impression (Louis Roy) imposed further supremacy over her peers with another decisive victory in the C$156,000 Simcoe Stakes for 3-year-old trotting fillies over the Woodbine Mohawk Park oval on Saturday night (August 31).
Outfooted early by R Liza out of post 10, driver Louis-Philippe Roy floated Drawn Impression forward from post 9 and sat an unhurried fifth while parked on the rim through a :26.4 first quarter. R Liza (Scott Zeron) cleared the lead to the backstretch and promptly reeled in her speed for a breather, leaving Roy in the perfect spot to push and take over command just past a :56.1 half.
“I wasn’t too worried, because I was kind of letting her trot,” said Roy after the race. “I’ve just been easy on her. Like you go a quarter in :28 with her, it’s like if you’re going :30 with another random horse. I mean, she just has a long stride. So the first half, even if it looks a little bit like she had much work to do, she didn’t really work herself.”
Roy sat chilly as Drawn Impression cruised on the point around the final turn. She clicked past three-quarters in 1:25 and sprinted for the finish under a hand drive, registering a 3-1/2-length win as the 1-5 favourite over a fast-closing Willys Home Run (James MacDonald), who rallied from third over to take second. Second-over Cold Snaps (Jamieson) tipped off cover to finish third and Tactical Strike (Sylvain Fillion) sat a ground-saving trip for fourth.
“The first few times I raced her on the front, like I remember qualifying her – and even the one time in Vernon – I feel like maybe she wasn’t used to it,” Roy also said. “When you got those horses who race on the front for the first time, they’re on and off, and they spend a lot of energy. But even last start and tonight, she’s just like a perfect individual to drive, like an old horse. So the way she is right now, against the competition, I feel like I can let her do what she wants. I wouldn’t want to say that she’s 100 percent safe tonight, and then see her make a break in the next few starts. I don’t want to jinx myself.”
A daughter of Muscle Hill out of champion mare Emoticon Hanover, Drawn Impression has now won twice from six starts this season and six times from 12 starts in her career, good for $507,844. The homebred for Serge Godin’s Determination returned $2.50 to win.
