After being limited to one start as a two-year-old, Woodys Girl has proved to be a quick learner when it comes to winning this season at three.
A full sister to three-time Maryland Sire Stakes champion Fancy Like That, the daughter of Rustys For Real-Scootin Woody triumphed in both her Maryland Sire Stales preliminary rounds the past two weeks at Rosecroft Raceway and heads to Wednesday’s $95,000 USD final for three-year-old female pacers as the 2-1 morning line favourite.
Overall this season, Woodys Girl has four wins and two seconds in seven races, earning $26,597 for trainer Kasey Bendix, who bred and owns the filly with her aunt Virginia Marvel. Woodys Girl started only once last year, in late May at Ocean Downs, because of a stress fracture.
“She showed a lot of promise,” said Bendix. “We thought she was going to be a lot like her sister. We turned her out to give her time to mature and hoped she would come back good as a three-year-old. So far so good. She’s put it all together pretty quickly.”
Equipment changes after Woodys Girl went off stride in her first qualifier this year seemed to set the filly on her way.
“She wasn’t used to being on the track with a bunch of other horses,” said Bendix. “It was just a matter of getting her to pay attention to what she’s supposed to be doing. We made a few equipment changes and that seemed to make all the difference. Now she seems like she knows what she’s doing. I just don’t think she’s figured out how fast she actually is.”
Fancy Like That, now four, has won 20 of 47 career races, hit the board an additional 13 times and earned $293,046 for Bendix and Marvel. She won one Maryland Sire Stakes title at age two and swept both the Rosecroft and Ocean Downs finals last season at three.
Bendix said Woodys Girl shared similarities with Fancy Like That, but without the off-the-track quirks for which her older sister was known.
“She’s more laidback, not quite as anxious as 'Fancy,'” said Bendix. “She acts like she’s here to do her business and that’s what she’s going to do.”
Scootin Woody has been a successful broodmare for Bendix and her aunt. They bought Scootin Woody after her two-year-old campaign in 2015, but a tendon issue forced the filly to retirement after three races at age three.
In addition to Woodys Girl and Fancy Like That, her offspring include Rustys Rockin, who was a Maryland Sire Stakes final runner-up at age three in 2022 at Rosecroft.
“We always thought [Scootin Woody] would have been an Open mare,” said Bendix. “She had the speed. When we had to quit with her, we made the decision to breed her and see how it went. It’s been heaven sent. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, I think.”
Woodys Girl will start her Maryland Sire Stakes final on Wednesday from post four with regular driver Tim Deaton.
Rosecroft will also hosts Maryland Sire Stakes finals for three-year-old male pacers and sophomore male and female trotters on Wednesday before the spring meet ends on Sunday. The event for male trotters is a non-wagering race that will be contested at 6:45 p.m. The remaining finals will be part of the regular card, which gets underway at 7:15 p.m.
(USTA)