Twenty-five different trainers won races at Woodbine through four racing days last week as purse money was spread out over 38 races.
There were not any stakes races this weekend but there were some impressive performances by horses and several horsepeople had very good weeks.
Jockey EMMA-JAYNE WILSON, who makes a habit of winning the last race at Woodbine, had a six-win week and two of those came for Shirley Prosser’s Box Arrow Farm and Gord Colbourne. In fact, those two wins came in races 1 and 2 on Saturday with MISS BOBBIT beating the boys in a claiming dash and HEKLA’S AURA wiring her field to win her maiden.
The pair of wins have taken some of the sting out of the June 11 outing by their first-time starter CHIPOTLE PEPPER, a grey Big Screen filly who had been working fast for her debut. The filly’s workout times were no secret and some handicappers picked her to win or made her their top pick of the day. Listed at a high 8-to-1 in the morning line odds, the filly went off at 7-to-5 but after a brief chase she faded to sixth.
Other multiple winners during the four days of the past week (it’s almost July already!) included Josie Carroll, Kevin Attard, Steven Chircop and Ross Armata Jr. who is subbing for Mike DePaulo.
In fact, the Armata/DePaulo family team won three races, the most significant being the allowance win by the three-year-old STANLEY HOUSE on June 18 in a 1 1/16 mile event against older horses. The dark bay Ontario-bred, owned by John and Diana Russell, scored a workmanlike win under Luis Contreras, his second win in his last three starts, keeping him among the leading contenders for the August 20th King’s Plate. Stanley House ran the distance in a good 1:43.45 and he galloped out strongly.
The son of Army Mule – Stormy’s Song by Unbridled’s Song is likely to go to the Plate Trial Stakes on July 23 next, according to Armata, Jr. The Grade 3 Marine Stakes, a 1 1/16 mile race for open three-year-olds, is on July 1.
“Since he had run two turns in Florida, it didn’t make sense to shorten him up for the Queenston Stakes [last week],” said Armata, Jr. “So working backwards from the Plate, he’ll go to the Trial.”
Stanley House was a $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling purchase from breeders Elevage II LLC and St Elias Stables LLC.
Armata Jr. also won with promising three-year-old EL COHETE, a son of Society’s Chairman owned by Rocco d’Alimonte and Frank Annecchini, and 30-to-1 longshot MARALINGA (Runhappy) for owners Nicholas Lotz and Liam Gannon.
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The highest-priced auction yearling in Canada in 2022, MY BOY PRINCE, was an impressive winner of a maiden race at Woodbine on Sunday. The grey son of Cairo Prince – Hopping not Hoping by Silent Name (Jpn) flew to a 6-length win in the 5 furlong dash, stopping the clock in 57.01. Owned by Gary Barber, the colt cost $115,000 last fall and the breeder is Murray Smith, who sold him through Gail Wood.
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