"Credit to the previous owners: they recognized that she needed time, they gave her time and I think that's probably been the best thing for her."

After racing in stakes events late in 2013 and then not seeing action for nearly a year, pacing filly Witch Dali showed no signs of rust in the opening leg of the Niagara Series last Thursday at Woodbine Racetrack. The Dali-Whitesand Gem filly was a solid 1:53 winner for driver Jody Jamieson and trainer Tony Alagna.

On paper, one noticeable difference was the ownership. Witch Dali was making her first start for co-owner Brad Grant, who just bought into the filly 10 days ago.

"I have some yearlings with Tony and he knows I'm always looking for racehorses. I bought Sandbetwenurtoes from him and Wake Up Peter, I bought in the sale but Tony spoke highly of him," Grant told Trot Insider.

"He called me and we talked about her. He liked her and I asked if he was selling all and he said 'no, I like the filly, I'll stay in' so we were able to get a deal done."

Grant also took into account that Alagna was not only fond of the filly, but was well aware of her history.

"The thing I like about this filly is that Tony knew the filly all the way along. He didn't seem concerned that the filly had been raced lightly," said Grant, noting that the time off last year wasn't due to injury: she just needed time to grow. "He was comfortable and willing to stay in so I figured those were all good signs."

Her 1:53 effort last week was a two-length under-wraps score, and the fastest of the two divisions. This Thursday, the Niagara narrows to one ten-horse division in Race 3. Witch Dali drew post nine while the other division winner, Mach Some Noise, drew more favourably in post five.

"She drew kind of lousy this week with the nine hole. Tony O'Sullivan's got a pretty good filly in there too," Grant confessed. "Only time will tell; we think that with some of the stakes she has available to her that she could be a good investment."

With stakes winners the likes of Apprentice Hanover and Sandbetweenurtoes shut down for the season, owner Brad Grant noted that he "needs a few racehorses to pay for all the ones that are in the barns for the winter," and with the stakes events ahead on her schedule, he's hopeful that his investment can be quickly recouped.

"Two starts back, when she raced at The Meadowlands, she had the eight hole and went right to the front. And Jody was really pleased with her the other night. It's obviously a handicap when you're on the outside but we're hoping that she'll be alright....After the race last week when I talked to Jody, he was really pleased and thought there was more."

To view the entries for Thursday night's card at Woodbine, click the following link: Thursday Entries - Woodbine Racetrack.