The Di Scola Boys won their first stakes race as owners when the two-year-old colt HE’S NOT JOKING roared to an impressive four-length win in the bet365 Grey Stakes (G3) at Woodbine on November 3. A Kentucky-bred trained by Josie Carroll, He’s Not Joking was 10-to-1 in the field of eight and had Kazushi Kimura aboard for his fourth career race.
The Grey, run just 30 minutes after the Mazarine Stakes (G3) for fillies, had a filly favourite as Shifty (Medaglia d’Oro), trained by Mark Casse, stayed in the Grey despite being cross-entered along with several other stablemates to the Mazarine.
And the fans liked Shifty, who had won the Catch a Glimpse Stakes and was coming out of the Grade 2 Miss Grillo on turf at Aqueduct where she had finished sixth. Owned by D J Stable, Shifty was speedy out of the gate at the outset of the 1 1/16 mile race and went fast on the lead, 23.01. 47.11 and 1:11.17. Her stablemates Tapit Kissit Winit, a colt who was two-for-two, and Ready to Battle got tired chasing her, while the Kevin Attard-trained colt Dewolf stayed in the hunt.
But Kazushi, who had ridden He’s Not Joking (Practical Joke – Collegeville Girl by Central Banker) to his maiden win second time out and a third in the Display Stakes to fellow Grey starter Thundering, was confident in his colt and set him loose while wide. Shifty wasn’t slowing down, but He’s Not Joking was strong and he powered past to win in 1:43.18. Dewolf, a Canadian-bred, was up for second for X-Men Racing IV and Canuck Racing Club and Shifty held for third.
The Grey Stakes went just about two seconds faster than the Mazarine.
John DiScola makes up DiScola Boys with his sons Mark and Joey. The Woodbridge, ON family have had graded stakes-placed horses such as Platinum Glory and Diosa Catrina and Queen’s Plate fourth He’s a Macho Man and they were excited to win their first stakes race.
“It feels awesome,” said John Di Scola. “We waited a long time to get on this side of the grass. Very proud of the way he stepped up and finished today.”
While the DiScolas have often concentrated on buying Canadian-breds, He’s Not Joking is a Kentucky-bred and thus not on the King’s Plate trail. A $105,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase last year, the colt is the first foal from Iroquois Stakes winner Collegeville Girl. The colt’s fourth dam is the brilliant sprinter Glitter Woman, dam of Grade 1 winner Political Force.
SOMETHINABOUTHER used similar tactics as He’s No Joke to win the Mazarine when the front runners in the filly race failed to stay and she rallied from off the pace under jockey Declan Cannon. The daughter of Mendelssohn was winning the Grade 3 Mazarine less than 24 hours after her owners, X-Men Racing (IV), Madaket Stables and SF Bloodstock won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) with the great Moira.
Brendan Walsh sent Somethinabouther up from Kentucky for the race and she was first time with Lasix. She had won her maiden on the grass at Ellis Park in August.
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