Ventura, a four-year-old daughter of Chester House, has won three of her five starts this year after campaigning in England as a two and three-year-old. She'll also try to become the first filly to win the Woodbine Mile in its 12 editions.
"She just got beat an inch, but I think the one-turn mile (at Woodbine) will set up good for her," said Frankel. "I've had five Eclipse Award-winning fillies, but I'd rate her (Ventura) pretty good."
Frankel saddled Mile winners Riviera, a 10-1 longshot in 2000 and heavily-favoured Leroidesanimaux in 2005. A win by Ventura would allow him to tie Neil Drysdale for most Woodbine Mile wins amongst conditioners.
Ventura will be piloted by North America's leading rider, Garrett Gomez, who won last year's Woodbine Mile aboard favoured Shakespeare. A victory would not only tie Gomez with Kent Desormeaux and John Velazquez at two Mile wins apiece, but he would also become the first rider to win back-to-back Woodbine Miles.
ICE BEAR TO ICE COMPETITION
He was able to 'Ice' the competition in his last race, but can Ice Bear maul them all in his biggest race to date, the Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile?
A gelded son of Maria's Mon, Augustin Stable's Ice Bear enters the Mile off a gutsy score in the With Approval Stakes on August 10. The Ontario-bred had a nose for the wire, winning by that margin in the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack event.
"He's a smart horse," said jockey Chantal Sutherland, who was aboard for the With Approval win. "He's very athletic and he has a ton of heart. He gives you plenty of pump down the lane. He is a perfect gentleman."
Trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Mac Benson, Ice Bear, who has finished worse than fifth just twice in his 16-race career, will look to keep his perfect record at one mile on the turf - two-for-two - in Sunday's classic.
With four consecutive races boasting a 90-plus Beyer figure (Daily Racing Form speed rating) under his saddle, the four-year-old has been at the top of his game.
Benson hopes he'll be even better on September 7.
"I wish we had gotten more out of him as a two-year-old, but it just didn't pan out. His three-year-old year was an odd one. He showed promise, but he didn't always deliver the way you expected. But he has matured."
STRETCH RUNNING WOLLEMI PINE DANGEROUS PROSPECT IN MILE
Ian Black trainee Wollemi Pine could be a late-running longshot in the $1 million Woodbine Mile on Sunday.
The Kentucky-bred is three for six in 2008 and has hit the board in his only two stakes attempts.
"He's greatly improved from three to four. It's definitely maturity," said Black.
Owned by Kinghaven Farms, Harvey Clarke and Greg Thompson, Wollemi Pine rallied smartly to finish second in the recent Play the King Stakes.
"He was getting to (Just Rushing) late. For those kind of horses, the first quarter (:23.33) was probably slower than we would have liked. If you look from the half-mile to home and see how quick they ran (:34.25), that's how quick we would have had to run to catch them."
Wollemi Pine will be ridden by Emma-Jayne Wilson.
THE SCORE TO SHOW WOODBINE MILE
The Score will televise the Woodbine Mile live in a special presentation from 4:00 pm ET - 6:00 pm ET. Post time is 5:35 pm ET. It will go as Race 9.
Jeff Bratt will host the telecast of the $1 million race with analyst Jim Bannon. The broadcast also features analysis from Sandy Hawley and Renee Kierans. The producer is Rob Platts. The director is Matt Taylor. Dan Loiselle will call the action.
The Grade 1, 1 1/2-mile $750,000 Northern Dancer Stakes, presented by V-Tech, will also broadcast live during the show. Post-time is set for 4:25 pm ET.
