In a matter of two months, trainer Evette Chartrand-Hoek went from sending out her first winner of the season to her sixth, setting personal records for wins and purses in her eighth year of training. Chartrand-Hoek trains the small stable of HBPA Ontario president Sue Leslie and partners and the team has won those six races from their last 11 starts.
BRANDY AND ME is the latest star for the barn, an exciting bay filly who remained unbeaten in two races with a strong win in the $201,500 Algoma Stakes for 3 and 4-year-old fillies, graduates of the CTHS Canadian Premier yearling sale. Sent off at 7 to 2 off a huge debut win – a 5 1/2 length romp with an 80 Beyer Speed Figure – Brandy and Me was given a shrewd ride by Jason Hoyte to save ground before tipping out for a 2 1/2 length win. The time for seven furlongs was 1:22.98.
A daughter of Silent Name (Jpn) – Aquinnah by City Place, Brandy and Me was picked out of the 2024 CTHS sale for just $25,000. Bred by Keith and Rachel McClelland, the filly did not race at 2.
“There has been a lot of funny things with this horse,” said Chartrand-Hoek, who is from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. “We kind of nicknamed her Bucky the Wonder Horse and now it’s like, wow.”
Leslie named Brandy and Me for a special dog she had years ago. She owns the filly with family members Val and Susan Kay and Chris Odell.
Mary Varey’s Hawberry, by Collected, was second, picking up $40,000. Hawberry was bought for $5,000 from consignor Ballycroy Bloodstock, agent for Denny Andrews and Niall Brennan. Ella It Is, owned by Heste Sport and bred by the owner’s Norse Ridge Farm, was third.
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