Woodbine racetrack has cooked up a huge weekend of racing highlighted by the 162nd Queen’s Plate on Sunday, August 22, with 24 races, eight of them stakes events and five of them graded.
A litany of top local horses will be challenged by numerous shippers to Ontario and perhaps the most exciting visitor is the grey filly CARAVEL, the 2020 Pennsylvania Horse of the Year and recent graded stakes winner at Saratoga. Celebrity chef and shrewd horse owner BOBBY FLAY bought 75% of this Mizzen Mast filly who was bred by Elizabeth Merryman and raced for the trainer through June 25. Through that time the filly won six of eight races on turf and synthetic. Following her win at Monmouth in the Goodwood Stakes on June 25, Flay bought in and watched her win the Grade 3 Caress Stakes on July 24.
The filly is now trained by Graham Motion, who is a neighbour of Merryman at Fair Hill Training Centre.
Caravel is even-money in the morning line for Sunday’s Grade 1 Highlander Stakes, worth $350,000. She meets the boys for the first time and moves out to six furlongs with that daunting, long stretch run on the E P Taylor turf course ahead of her. Irad Ortiz, Jr. rides for the second straight time.
Her long-term goal is the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar in November.
The HIGHLANDER has a field of 8 and, like most stakes at Woodbine, there are several Mark Casse trainees, three in fact. He sends out the very fast Turned Aside who looks to get back on track after a layoff.
Here are some notes about each of the other stakes races on the Saturday, Aug. 21 card and the three supporting stakes for the Plate on Sunday:
SOARING FREE STAKES – The local prep for the Grade 1 Summer Stakes has a small field of six including recent maiden allowance winner FIRST EMPIRE, an Ontario-bred by first crop sire Classic Empire who led all the way to win that turf sprint on Aug. 1. Silent Empire is owned by Dick Bonnycastle’s Harlequin Ranches and is the first runner for Bonnycastle alone in four years. A troubled second in First Empire’s win was Silent Farewell, a son of Silent Name (Jpn) who races for the estate of Gus Schickedanz.
CATCH A GLIMPSE STAKES – The local prep for the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes and in the eight-filly field is the unbeaten DIABOLIC (Ire) who was so professional winning the My Dear Stakes for D J Stable and the Nexus Racing Club. Trainer Mark Casse has four of the eight starters. He co-owns one of them, LOIS LEN, who was an impressive debut winner and has plenty of turf breeding.
SINGSPIEL STAKES – GRADE 3 – This is a 1 1/4 mile tour of the E P Taylor turf course and shippers EONS and CORELLI are formidable. Eons, from the Arnaud Delacour stable at Fair Hill in Maryland, just set a course record at Colonial Downs when he won the Buckland Stakes. He is a full brother to former Ontario stallion Giant Gizmo. Stakes winner Corielli is Grade 1 placed. The local hope is Breeders’ Stakes winner Belichick.
Delacour said about Eons’ win in the Buckland, “He ran a very, very good race. I was [expecting him to run well]. I was happy with the horse and happy with the ride because it was a patient ride. He always runs well. It was such a long time since he went to the winner’s circle, but not by lack of good effort. He was running well against good horses.
“He’s always on edge, but he is great. You can do what you want with him. He’s really athletic, but he has a lot of energy, for sure.”
“The key with him is always the same… I’m always hoping for a fast pace, where the other horses can come back a little bit,” said Delacour. “He needs a lot of stretch to get going and that’s probably one of the reasons I would love to try him at Woodbine. The stretch is very long and horses have time to really get into a rhythm.”
Patrick Husbands, who won the 2016 Singspiel aboard Danish Dynafomer, will ride Eons on Saturday.
“We’ve been lucky with Patrick in the past. He’s done well for us. I’m very happy with how we’re going into the race.”
SEAWAY STAKES – GRADE 3 – A Tapeta race is welcomed as there are so few of them this weekend and this seven-furlong sprint pits BOARDROOM, four for six in her career and winner of the Grade 3 Whimsical in June, against her rivals AMALFI COAST and OUR SECRET AGENT.
SUNDAY – ONTARIO COLLEEN STAKES – GRADE 3 – Three-year-old fillies go one mile on the E P Taylor turf and invaders SEASONS, trained by Jimmy Toner, and MISSPELL, for Chad Brown, are top contenders.
DANCE SMARTLY STAKES – Grade 2 – This is a 1 1/4 mile turf race and there are five shippers including last year’s E.P. Taylor (G1) stakes winners ETOILE for Chad Brown and Grade 3 stakes winners Blame Debbie and Mutamakina. Note that shippers from New York are allowed to go back on the Lasix program at Woodbine.
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