Whew. What a week in horse racing. Woodbine is the only Canadian track still racing and has 24 cards left following racing last Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Plus there were two days of Breeders’ Cup World Championships to handicap and enjoy making for a jam-packed series of days.
One of the biggest stories of the Woodbine week came Sunday when the track’s leading rider EURICO ROSA DA SILVA, soon to retire from riding, came back from his long journey to Santa Anita, rode all 10 races at Woodbine Sunday and won 6 of them. An incredible feat since there had to be a touch of jet-lag based on his traveling to California. It was the third time this year Da Silva has won 6 races on a card.
Da Silva rode SPECIAL FORCES to win the Grade 3 Autumn Stakes at 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.52, just missing the track record. The latest success story for owners Soli Mehta and Kevin Attard, who also trains, earned the week’s highest Beyer Figure in Canada of 99.
Special Forces, who had gapped the top five down the backstretch, set his sights on his target and came flying down the stretch to defeat favourite Mr Ritz for his first stakes victory.
“This horse was in great shape today. Very, very focused, very relaxed,” said Da Silva. “Riding for Kevin is unbelievable. This man always brings the horse in the best shape they can be, and this horse was his best today. He gave me a lot of confidence and when I was sitting behind there, it was just a matter of time for me to get going.”
Claimed for $40,000 in September last year, Special Forces has won half of his eight starts since while finishing no worse than third. The four-year-old son of Candy Ride had just missed by a nose last time out in the Grade 3 Durham Cup on Sept. 28, and also hit the board prior to that stakes event in the Presque Isle Downs Mile and Grade 3 Seagram Cup, both won by Mr Ritz.
“It took a little longer than we anticipated [to get a stakes win],” said Attard, who co-owns with Soli Mehta. “We were real high on the horse from last year and sometimes you hook small fields and the pace just doesn’t set up your way and today everything went our way.”
Sent postward as the 8-5 second choice, Special Forces paid $5.30 to win. He combined with Mr Ritz ($2.40, $2.30) for an exacta worth $9.50. Cooler Mike ($4.60) edged out Salute With Honor for third to complete the trifecta and superfecta, which returned $43.50 and $187.15 for $1 tickets. Isotherm, Sir Anthony, Say the Word and Admiralty Pier rounded out the field.
Special Forces now sports a career record reading 5-5-1 from 17 starts with earnings soaring past the $300,000 mark.
SPECIAL FORCES, while bred in Kentucky has Canadian breeding. By Candy Ride (ARG) he is from the super mare Special Me (Unbridled’s Song). Special Me, dam of Grade 2 stakes winners GIFT BOX and STONETASTIC is a daughter of Ed Lang’s mare Delta Danielle, a stakes placed Ontario-bred mare who is out of stakes placed Domasco Danielle. Domasco Danielle is a full sister to the popular graded stakes winner/sire DOMASCA DAN.
Also Sunday – Presque Isle invader NEW YORK GROOVE cruised to an easy win in the Glorious Song Stakes, an open event for 2-year-old fillies at 7 furlongs. She raced the distance in 1:22.56 on a Tapeta surface that was very fast on Sunday. The Verrazano filly is 4 for 4 in her career.
*The sizzling MARTIN DREXLER barn won three races, two with Da Silva riding – Goodoldhockeygame and Brass Compass -and one with Rafael Hernandez, Analyzer. Drexler, who began training in Winnipeg in 2002, has 52 wins this year, a personal best and he is 2 wins away from 400.
The leading rider list looks like this – Eurico Da Silva 147, Rafael Hernandez 130, and Kazushi Kimura 120.
The trainer’s standings have MARK CASSE with 80, NORM MCKNIGHT with 70, MARTIN DREXLER WITH 52, and KEVIN ATTARD with 45.
Bombs Away
It is not surprising that, at this time of the season, there are a few more long-shots winning races at Woodbine. A couple of real bombers came in Saturday.
TRUEBLIEVE, a 2-year-old colt with the rail post in a $25,000 maiden claiming field, won his debut at 64 to 1 for owner and trainer Chetram Mohabir and jockey Carl DeFreitas. A $2,000 yearling purchase last year from the CTHS Ontario sale, the colt chased the speed, moved outside and then to the rail to win over the eight rivals.
He is a son of Nephrite (GB) and from the 1995 mare Gentle Words, a well bred daughter of Bertrando who has had some good foals. Laurel Byrne is the breeder.
Later on Saturday, it was another rail runner, SPRING EDITION, at 48 to 1 who won for owner/trainer Bev Chubb plus co-owners Rivermead Stables, David Knibbs and Bruce Wood. This Ontario-bred by Spring at Last had never won on the Tapeta surface in 14 previous tries but roared to victory in this $25,000 claiming event under jockey David Moran.
TOP WINNING BEYER SPEED FIGURES IN CANADA Oct. 30 – Nov. 3
Courtesy Daily Racing Form
99 SPECIAL FORCES – Autumn Stakes G3
95 RICHIESINTHEHOUSE – Kennedy Road prep
87 BRASS COMPASS
86 SLIP KID
85 HELL N WILD
84 TAP THE MOJO
83 CORDUROY ROAD
83 ANALYZER
83 NEW YORK GROOVE – Glorious Song Stakes
More from Handicapping:
