TORONTO -- Lexie Lou will get a shot at winning Canadas most prestigious horse race. Jerricho Cotchery Jersey . Lexie Lou earned a commanding 4 1/2-length win Sunday in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks. In fact, Lexie Lous winning time of 1:49.77 was better than the 1:50.78 posted by Queens Plate favourite We Miss Artie in the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes earlier. That left Lexi Lous handlers with the question whether to run her against the boys in the Queens Plate on July 6 or chase the remaining two legs of the Triple Tiara for Canadian-bred three-year-old fillies. Conditioner Mark Casse missed Sundays race while attending a horse sale in Florida. But the six-time winner of Canadas top trainer award said he spoke with owner Gary Barber and the decision was made to point the filly towards the Plate. "As long as shes healthy and happy that will be her next stop," Casse said in a telephone interview Sunday evening. Assistant trainer Kathyrn Sullivan represented Casse at Sundays race, however she was unable to call him afterwards with the good news. Thats because Sullivan lost both of her cellphones in the walking race prior to the race. "I havent talked to Kathryn yet," Casse said with a chuckle. "She did text me saying she was a nervous wreck. "But were fortunate to have a lot of great people working with us and I know she did a terrific job." Jockey Patrick Husbands had Lexie Lou, the 2/1 second choice, sitting second behind stablemate Wild Catomine for much of the race before surging into the lead and cruising for her fourth victory in 11 career starts. The $300,000 winners share boosted her lifetime earnings over $630,000. Wild Catomine, also trained by Casse, was second in the nine-horse field, with Llanarmon taking third. Paladin Bay, the 2/1 favourite, was fourth. "We took a good run at her, like we always do, but Lexie Lou found another gear out there, she just took off again," said Gerry Olguin, the jockey aboard Paladin Bay. "I thought I was going to be second . . . she got tired at the end." Sundays race was just Lexie Lous second since being purchased by Barber and first without blinkers. Husbands rode Lexie Lou to a third-place finish in the $150,000 Fury Stakes event May 10 and felt blinkers werent necessary. "The last time she never relaxed," Husbands said. "We worked her twice since the last race without blinkers, no problem. "In the post parade, she was relaxed." Only five Oaks winners have gone on to win the Queens Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown and this countrys most prestigious horse race. The last was Inglorious in 2011. Sullivan said while Lexie Lou would give away size to the colts in the Plate, shed have the speed needed to compete. "Shes light and just floats on the track and theres definitely advantages to that," she said. "I think youd find some people would say thats the kind of horse youd want and youd find as many other people saying the other (bigger is better). "Shes put on a little weight and sort of filled out a little bit in the last month. Shes just got that big, long, beautiful stride." And theres the matter of Lexie Lou posting a faster time than We Miss Artie did in the Plate Trial, both races covering 1 1/8 miles. "Yeah, I know," Sullivan said with a smile. "Thats also a debate that will rage on." We Miss Artie was the overwhelming 1/5 favourite in the Plate Trial, and with good reason. The Todd Pletcher-trained bay colt was the Queens Plate Winterbook favourite this winter and finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby on May 3. Sundays race was not only We Miss Arties first since the Derby but first-ever at Woodbine. He found himself sitting third, boxed in along the rail at one point but jockey Javier Castellano patiently waited for an opening and when it appeared, he had more than enough horse to respond. "I think I rode the best horse in the race, I think I rode with a lot of patience," Castellano said. "I let him settle . . . when we turned for home we asked (for) a little bit and he give me a good kick." Assistant trainer Ginny DePasquale admitted being concerned about We Miss Arties dire standing late in the race. "There for a moment you get a little nervous but we knew he would come through in the end," she said. "Hes got a big heart and found an opening and went on. "Javier just kind of saved him at the wire a little bit." Sullivan was impressed with We Miss Arties late kick. "Hes a much nicer horse than he is on paper, weve always thought that," she said. "You could see at the top of the turn as soon as he got some room he was full of horse, full of run. "He will definitely be very tough to run against." Majestic Sunset was second in the seven-horse field, with Tower of Texas taking third. Kelvin Benjamin Panthers Jersey . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. Charles Johnson Panthers Jersey . Justin Upton homered and scored the tiebreaking run on Chris Johnsons eighth-inning single, and the Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night to end their seven-game skid. INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers bench didnt provide much in Saturday nights 97-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Danny Granger, Luis Scola, C.J. Watson and Ian Mahinmi combined to shoot just 4 of 18 for 16 points. None played more than Watsons 18:33. "Weve got to figure out something to get a better rhythm with that group," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. Maybe the arrival of Andrew Bynum will help. Hours after the Pacers signed the free-agent centre for the rest of the season, Indiana overcame an early deficit and held off the Nets to improve to an NBA-best 22-2 at home. Bynum wasnt in the arena -- Vogel said before the game that the mercurial big man had returned to Cleveland and hadnt had a chance to meet his new teammates yet. But Indianas All-Star starter, Paul George, isnt concerned about Bynums reputation. "I think it increases our chances (of winning a championship)," George said. "A lot of teams have three centres. With us only having two, him being one of the best ones out there, its a no-brainer to go after a talented guy like that." The Pacers (36-10) eked out the win despite a season-high 24 turnovers that Brooklyn converted into 36 points. "We didnt play a great game," Vogel said. "Weve got to get under control." George and Roy Hibbert both had 20 points for the Pacers, who swept the four-game season series. Lance Stephenson, left out of the All-Star game despite leading the NBA in triple-doubles, added 14 points for Indiana. David West had 17 points and George Hill scored 10. "Weve got to be a little more patient. Were swinging for the fences a little too much in terms of trying to make some tight interior passes as opposed to making the simple play," said West, who had a game-high seven assists. Shaun Livingston scored a season-high 24 points for the Nets, who couldnt hold an early seven-point lead against the Eastern Conference leaders. Joe Johnson, an All-Star selection, spent much of the night dueling with Stephenson and scored 16 for Brooklyn, which has lost three straight since starting January with 11 wins in 12 games. "We play 82 games through the season and youre going to have your ups and downs, and hopefully youre ready come playoff time," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. Stephenson, unhappy he was left off the All-Star team, had words at times with the Brooklyn bench. "I could care less if its personal," Johnson said. "He needs to talk it over with the coaches. Ive got nothing to do with it." Paul Pierce scored 15 points, Deron Williiams added 13 and Kevin Garnett had 12 for the Nets, who were coming off a 120-95 loss at home to Oklahoma City on Friday night. Luke Kuechly Womens Jersey. "The guys were active tonight and we got our hands on some balls and we turned them over," Kidd said. "We didnt capitalize as well as we wanted, but definitely an improvement from what we did the night before." West scored seven points in the fourth quarter, hitting five of six free throws to help the Pacers hold on. "David always comes through when we need him most," George said. "He shines in those moments. He really picks us up in those moments." Brooklyn tied the score at 76 on Livingstons two free throws with 10 minutes left, but Hibbert converted a three-point play and Indiana led the rest of the way. Livingston pulled Brooklyn to 85-83 with 5:10 to play, but after an extended Indiana possession, Stephenson hit two free throws after being fouled by Johnson, then Hibbert slammed home a dunk. The Nets wouldnt go away, though. Hill hit one of two free throws with 18.6 seconds to play for a 94-90 lead before Johnsons 3-pointer with 8 seconds left made it 94-93. West then hit two free throws, rebounded Pierces missed 3 and hit one more free throw to make it 97-93. Williams hit a 3 with 0.4 seconds left, and the game ended after Scola threw the inbounds pass off Pierces back. "The one thing we said was, Dont throw it out of bounds," Vogel said. "We said, Throw it anywhere where it hits them or us." Brooklyn took advantage of a sluggish start by the Pacers to lead by seven points three times in the first quarter, the last on Johnsons short jumper that put the Nets ahead 13-6 with 7:28 to play in the period. The Pacers took their first lead at 19-18 on Georges 3-pointer. Livingston hit two jumpers and Johnson added another to put Brooklyn back ahead 24-19, but Indiana closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to lead 25-24. Neither team could build a lead greater than four points in the second quarter, and the lead changed hands six times, with five ties. Georges driving layup with 6 seconds to play gave the Pacers a 46-45 halftime lead. The Pacers outscored Brooklyn 12-2 over the first 3:36 of the third quarter, building a 58-47 lead and prompting a timeout by Kidd. Brooklyn responded with a 19-9 run to pull to 67-66. Indiana scored the next five points, but Alan Anderson hit a 3-pointer, Mason Plumlee made one of two free throws and the Nets trailed just 72-70 entering the fourth. NOTES: The Pacers improved to 32-1 when leading after the third quarter. ... Indiana missed four of its first seven shots. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '