Eight horses were claimed from races on Thursday, July 22, as Woodbine began a new week of racing. The majority of those seem to be earmarked for racing at Fort Erie and four fillies were claimed out of the fifth race, a maiden claiming sprint.
The aforementioned race was won by QUEEN LICIA (Young Brian) who was the first winner of the meeting for trainer Nick Nosowenko, who has done his part for Ontario racing by consistently going out and buying horses each winter. Queen Licia won the $7,500 claiming race and was one of the four taken from the race; she is now trained by Nick Mileni for Richard Hurst.
Another trainer picking up his first win of the 2021 season was Nathan Squires, whose North Carolina-bred trainee ADMONISH (Mosier) won her maiden for $25,000 claiming under Simon Husbands. Owned and bred by William Thompson Jr., Admonish was making her fifth career start and second of the season.
There was also a course record set on Thursday as Gabe Grossberg’s homebred PROLIFERATE won a 1 1/16 mile, inner turf race for $20,000 claiming in 1:41.13, shading the previous record of 1:41.17 set by the mare Tappity Tappity last fall. Proliferate was claimed by Alpine Stables.
The newest jockeys in the very crowded room at Woodbine, Shaun Bridgmohan and Antonio Gallardo, are now riding each day. Gallardo won his first Woodbine race with Terra Racing’s homebred filly AMALFI SKY, a Sky Mesa gal and half-sister to the owner’s graded stakes winner Amalfi Coast.
Amalfi Sky and Gallardo battled on the pace, drew clear and then held off In My Opinion to win by a nose in the sixth race, a maiden allowance. These maiden allowances at Woodbine, which can be worth from $90,000 to $120,000, depending on provincial bonuses, are big events for owners. Amalfi Sky earned over $60,000 for the win, about the same amount that will be won by the winner of the Niagara Overnight Stakes on Sunday.
Thursday was also a day of the highest and lowest emotions for Martin Drexler’s barn. The team sent out JUNGLE GODDESS to win her maiden on the pace in race 4 for owners David Rowbotham, Rodney Carpenter and Tony Boogmans. The Old Forester filly was bred by Northern Dawn Stables.
Two races later the worst happened. One of the barn favourites, Ozaya, who was second by a nose in her career debut June 27, was odds-on in a $123,200 maiden allowance, but in a crowd of fillies appeared to get jostled about, took an awkward step and broke down. Jockey Kazushi Kumra was not injured but the filly was euthanized.
Thursday’s final race saw 7-year-old NORTHERN RUBY, making only her sixth start, win for the third time in her career. Ron Sadler’s homebred by Giant Gizmo won two races in two outings as a 5-year-old in 2019, raced once last year and this was her third race of 2021. Jason ‘Jet Li’ Hoyte rode Northern Ruby who was 6-to-1.
Woodbine has opened its Woodbine Club dining room and will allow owners to watch their horses train from the track apron each morning as the province continues its very slow re-opening process.
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