Woodbine Horse Racing Spotlight: Queen Macha Aims for Seaway Stakes Glory

A field of 11 talented fillies and mares will contest the Grade 3, $99,907 Seaway Stakes at Woodbine this Saturday, vying for the prestigious seven-furlong prize on the synthetic track.

Headlining the contenders is the 5-year-old mare Queen Macha, a daughter of Keen Ice trained by Martin Drexler for owner C2 Racing Stable. Queen Macha has compiled an impressive career record of 25 starts, 4 wins, 5 seconds, and 6 thirds, amassing over $211,506 in career earnings.

Drexler, reflecting on Queen Macha’s recent effort in the Sweet Briar Too Stakes, where she rallied from seventh to finish third, praised the mare’s resilience. “It wasn’t the ideal trip because of traffic, but she still ran great,” he said. “She has that ability to come running in the stretch, and she showed it that day.”

Bred by the renowned Calumet Farm, Queen Macha made her career debut at Gulfstream Park in September 2021, finishing second. After a series of runner-up and third-place finishes, she finally broke through for her maiden win at Delaware Park in July 2022. Since then, the gray mare has been a model of consistency, finishing outside the top four only twice in her last nine starts.

“I felt like she was going to do well,” Drexler said. “She is a big, big horse, and early on we were looking to find what the best fit for her was in terms of the ideal distance. She got out a little bit on the turns, which we were able to sort out fairly quickly, and it hasn’t been an issue. She has been a nice horse to have.”

Queen Macha’s most recent victory came one race prior to the Sweet Briar Too, when she rallied for a three-quarter-length triumph going seven furlongs on the Woodbine synthetic surface. Drexler believes the mare’s versatility will serve her well in the Seaway Stakes.

“I think going forward she is going to be a very good turf horse going seven-eighths to a mile,” Drexler said. “That said, she is very genuine and has shown she is more than capable on the (synthetic) track. She tries hard and has the ability.”

The Seaway Stakes is scheduled as the 10th race on the card, with a post time of 5:52 p.m. EDT. Fans and handicappers will be eager to see if Queen Macha can continue her consistent form and secure a graded stakes victory for Drexler and the C2 Racing Stable connections.

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