Two fillies who were finalists for Champion 2-year-old gal in Canada in 2019 including the Sovereign winner CURLIN’S VOYAGE took the stage in the Star Shoot Stakes on June 13 at Woodbine. The 6 furlong dash for 3-year-old fillies was one of two stakes races on the fourth day of the 2020 meeting.
OWLETTE, a brilliant speedster by Ontario sire Frac Daddy from the American Chance mare Itstartswithadream was ready for go for Ten Broeck Farm and trainer Wesley Ward, zooming to the lead comfortably and holding on to win by 1 3/4 lengths over Curlin’s Voyage. Jerome Lermyte rode her for the first time as Patrick Husbands guided her two 2 stakes wins at Woodbine last year. Husbands was on ‘Voyage’.
Owlette clocked panels of :22.13 and :44.12 en route to victory 1:09.55, her fourth win in six career races. She has earned more than $234,000, not bad for a January-born foal who cost $7,500 at Keeneland January 2018.
Of course Owlette is a Woodbine Oaks hopeful (race is Aug. 15) but Curlin’s Voyage had a really good season debut and is a little more likely to handle the 1 1/8 mile distance of the Oaks. The Josie Carroll trainee won the 1 1/16 mile Ontario Lassie Stakes to end her 2019 campaign for Windsor Boys Racing and Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings which bred the daughter of Curlin.
Earlier on the card, Ivan Dalos’ homebred AVIE’S SAMURAI was a strong winner of an allowance race at 7 furlongs in her season debut. She had been 4th to Curlin’s Voyage in the Ontario Lassie Stakes and third by a neck in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes. Also trained by Carroll, Avie’s Samurai is by First Samurai from Avie’s Sense by Street Sense. She is a question mare at route distances at this point, but looked good in her Saturday win under Luis Contreras.
The Woodbine season’s first stakes race was also a six-furlong dash, the Woodstock Stakes, and invader NEWSTOME was the winner for Marie and Michael Trombetta and jockey Luis Contreras.
Leaving from the inside, Aye Aye Sir charged out along the rail in the Woodstock with Lookinatamiracle and outsider Untitled looming through a :22.30 first quarter. The outside foes continued to press the pace into the turn and past the :45.14 half-mile mark with Newstome, who had stalked the front-runners early, joining the fray then sprinting away down the stretch for the wide-open win in 1:09.99. He ran off by 5-1/2 lengths, with Untitled chasing in second and Lookinatamiracle edging out Aye Aye Sir for the third-place honours. Striking Moon and Stormy Soul completed the order of finish.
Bred in Pennsylvania by Equivine Farm, the grey Goldencents-Newstouse colt, who won a pair of Black Type stakes stateside during a $175,000 juvenile campaign, was making his Woodbine debut and now boasts wins in half of his eight career starts.
More Saturday
The stallion Frac Daddy had another winner June 13 as WEST PAW won an allowance/optional claiming race at 6 1/2 furlongs. This grey gal, owned by Mark and Tina Casse’s Quintessential Racing Florida LLC had landed on the edges to Owlette last year and had enough to hold to win this race over a closing Vesplolina, a Manitoba-bred 4-year-old. West Paw was a $10,000 yearling bred by Laurel Byrne. Patrick Husbands rode.
The first 2-year-old race of the year was a lovely affair and the winner was Conrad Farms’ homebred POLYANTHUS (a type of flower), who zoomed by the Wesley Ward gal Tequila Queen (by American Pharoah) to win handily under Kazushi Kimura. Mark Casse picked up his 4th win of the meeting with this Bernardini gal who had bullet workouts in Florida. Her older half-brother, State of Honor, a Grade 1 placed guy, is at LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement.
The 4 1/2 furlongs was run in :52.27. Fillies who closed well in the race included runner-up Dreaming of Drew, who took a lot of early betting, and Orbaline for trainer Kevin Attard.
Race 4 – Some Queen’s Plate nominees were in this 7 furlong maiden race including $485,000 yearling Bold Victory, a well-bred son of Flatter for John Oxley. Favoured for this race off three top three placings to begin his career, the colt was outrun, however, as Mickey Demers’ GOLDEN WAVE dueled 2 wide and then drew off to win in a good 1:23.72.
This colt went unsold as a yearling for $6,000 at Keeneland September but breeder Anderson Farms later sold him. He was then a $40,000 purchase last June at an Ocala 2-year-old sale and had worked very fast at Gulfstream in Florida this winter. He was just 5-to-1 for a maiden allowance there on Feb. 29. He landed last in that race and was seventh in a follow-up before returning to Woodbine in May. He is a son of the very fast Atreides, who stands in Oklahoma and from the mare Tidal Surge by Bernardini, who was bought in foal to Atreides for $100,000 by David Anderson.
First-time starter Fort Hope (Fort Larned) and Gary Barber’s Artie My Boy (Strong Mandate) did okay to land in the top three and like the winner are Plate eligibles.
Stakes winner SISTER PEACOCK won her 2020 debut at odds-on in race 5, lasting over a pesky Sav (Big Screen) for her 5th win in 11 races for Brent and Russell McLellan and trainer Stuart Simon. She is a Kentucky-bred by Real Solution.
Trainer Terry Jordan picked up his first win of 2020 and 530th career win with recent claim MAS CHIKILIN, who was making his second start on the grass. This Prospective gelding was taken for $25,000 by James Redekop last fall.
Ontario-bred WALKABOUT CREEK, owned and trained by Mike Doyle, has turned into a monster again. This guy was all the rage when he made his career debut in 2018 and won first time out, but by last fall he was racing for $4,750 claiming. He won the last 3 races of the season while boosting his Beyer Speed Figures to the 80s and he kept the roll going in his 2020 opener in race 9. David Moran guided him to a mild upset in this 5 1/2 furlong starter allowance and he earned $36,000 – almost as much as he earned in all of last year.
Race 10 – Wild win by PIPERS LEGACY in this 6 1/2 furlong dash on turf, a 4101,200 allowance. This 6-year-old mare has won her season debut twice before and she did it again for Chiefswood Stable. Trained by Don MacRae, she tucked in nicely along the inside early in the race but had traffic trouble late on the turn, causing a chain reaction behind her. She had to steady in the stretch and then finally threaded the needle to win in the last jump over Miss Behave. The Silent Name (Jpn) gal is 4 for 10 in her career and that was some good race riding by Patrick Husbands.
Terrible trips in the race for Weed Be Happy and Monastery Lane.
The final race of the day was a maiden optional claiming at 6 furlongs and YOLA, a dark bay gelding by Society’s Chairman owned by Mark Breen, swept around rivals from just off a hot pace to win in this 2nd career race, holding off a charging Impressive Speed in the last few jumps. The Catherine Day Phillips trainee debuted in July 19 and had been gelded in the interim. Emma-Jayne Wilson rode. Impressive Speed was the first horse sent out by trainer Alec Fehr since 2017. Third place finisher Highriseinthepeg came from miles behind, lost his path and flew late for trainer Juia Carey.
You can find race-by-race analysis and selections here.
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